San Francisco 49ers Ownership Conflict?

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The 49ers might have ownership issues once more, as the Mieuli heirs and the Yorks are coming in conflict.

Feb 5, 2012 - When it comes to sports ownerships, things are never easy. There are always squabbles going on. One particular franchise is the San Francisco 49ers, who've struggled with ownership issues for most of the past decade. It's been one of the reasons the Niners have taken so long to emerge from messes

It looks as if they're on the verge of more conflict. Phillip Matier and Andrew Ross of the San Francisco Chronicle reports.

The issue: The Mieuli heirs want to sell their piece of the Niners, and they say the Yorks are lowballing them on the value of the team.

The accusations are part of a breach of contract lawsuit filed against the 49ers ahead of this weekend's Super Bowl by an attorney for Mieuli's estate. The suit claims the Yorks have done "anything and everything to deny Mieuli's heirs the full and fair value" of their 5 percent ownership stake.

It's pretty surprising how cheap the Yorks can be if this is true. Why would the Yorks want to devalue their franchise by trying to lowball their fellow owners? It doesn't really make much sense from a business standpoint to do that. Then again, many of the decisions the 49ers leadership have made since the Yorks took control haven't made a whole lot of sense for the franchise.

To discuss the ownership of the 49ers, head on over to Niners Nation.