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Mets Rumors: Alex Rodriguez, Jennifer Lopez Working on 2nd Bid to Buy Team
May 30, 2020
Jennifer Lopez and Alex Rodriguez are working on a second bid to buy the New York Mets from the Wilpon family, per Thornton McEnery of the New York Post:
"Multiple sources close to the situation tell The Post that Alex Rodriguez and Jennifer Lopez are now working closely with very senior bankers at JPMorgan Chase on a new bid to buy the Mets after their initial approach failed to come together earlier this month.
"According to insiders, the baseball legend and pop-star actress are putting in 'hundreds of millions' of their own money to finally pry the Amazins’ free from the Wilpon family, who have become more eager than ever to unload the franchise thanks to COVID-19 making their precarious financial condition even more dire.
"A strong signal of that desperation is the inclusion of SNY, the Mets’ television network, in a new deal. As The Post has reported, the Mets operate at a major loss, relying on TV revenues to bridge the gap. That makes owning the team without the network prohibitive, especially as baseball recovers from the overwhelming COVID-19 effects."
The door is open for J-Lo and A-Rod to buy the team after New York billionaire (and Mets minority owner) Steve Cohen's $2.6 billion bid to purchase an 80 percent share of the Mets did not come to fruition, per McEnery.
"I’m very disappointed we couldn’t work out a deal, but as an eight percent holder I’m looking forward to a higher bid for the team," Cohen wrote (h/t Tim Healey of Newsday) in February.
"I want to thank the fans for their support and the respect they showed me and I want to thank Commissioner Manfred and MLB for their support through the process. I gave it my best shot."
Rodriguez and Lopez's interest came to light later in the year, per McEnery, but their first attempt did not work out:
"According to multiple sources, Alex Rodriguez and Jennifer Lopez are no longer interested in buying the Mets. That decision was reached after negotiations with potential partners failed to materialize and it became clear that the Wilpons’ reluctance to part with SNY makes it almost impossible for anyone without many billions of dollars to afford owning the team."
They appear ready to give it a second try, however, and the inclusion of SNY in another set of talks at the bargaining table could be crucial in a potential sale of the team.
Fred Wilpon became the single principal owner for the Mets in 2002 after buying out Nelson Doubleday, per Leslie Heaphy of SABR. The two bought the team in 1980, with Doubleday then owning an 80 percent share. The split became 50-50 between Wilpon and Doubleday in 1986.
Per Forbes, the Mets are valued at $2.4 billion as of April 2020.
Rodriguez would become just the second ex-player to join a current ownership group, with ex-New York Yankees teammate Derek Jeter owning a minority stake in the Miami Marlins.