On Wednesday, the Philadelphia Daily News reported that Jaguars owner Wayne Weaver has been negotiating a potential sale of the franchise to billionaire C. Dean Metropoulos.

The team has issued a statement denying any such discussions.  Here’s the full text of it:

“In light of news reports from last night, I must once again reiterate the fact that I am not selling the Jaguars,” Weaver said. “The team is not for sale, and I cannot say it any more clearly than that. I’m not going to speculate about the future — whatever happens in the future, the Jaguars will be the Jacksonville Jaguars. The situation is the same as it was last year when I explained that we were looking into refinancing some debt and the possibility of adding investors.  We chose not to, but that has always been an option.  That is the situation now, as it was then.

“The clearest example I can offer which demonstrates my commitment to this team and this city is our offseason activity this year.  We extended lucrative contracts to our head coach, our quarterback, and several veteran players.  And we spent aggressively in free agency as well.  Those are not moves that are made if a team is going to be sold.  I don’t know how I can be any stronger in reconfirming my commitment to bringing a championship to Jacksonville.

“We’re excited and energized about the upcoming season and we want our fans to be as excited as we are.”

Reading between the lines, it appears that, unless Weaver is flat-out fibbing, he is exploring the possibility of shaving off a piece of the team and selling it to Metropoulos.  Indeed, at a time when many owners are complaining about the lack of short-term profits, one way to pocket some cash is to cut a slice of the pie and sell it to the highest bidder.

If these franchises are now worth a billion dollars, selling ten percent translates into $100 million.