When Jennifer Lopez and Alex Rodriguez became attached to a bid to buy the New York Mets, that certainly made the news. This is not the first time that a former Major League Player goes into investing in a professional baseball team. Derek Jeter did it with the Miami Marlins, but in his case, he had minority shares. Guess what? The power couple is all in! Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic reported the couple is investing between $225-300 million of their own money. This means that Jlo and A-Rod would become the ‘control person’ of the organization. If you do it, you do it right!
Rodriguez would be the only Major League Baseball (MLB) player with a controlling interest in a franchise. According to the New York Post, the 14-time All-Star and Lopez have a combined net worth of about $700 million.
On the other, there is some skepticism within the MLB community that the power couple couldn’t raise the money needed to buy the Mets. We know Lopez is a great business woman, and A-Rod is very successful as well. They are meeting with different potential investors such as New England Patriots owners Robert and Jonathan Kraft. They have great plans for the Citi Field since JLo could use her influence in the entertainment industry for concerts and new business ventures.
The New York Post reported the Wilpon family is looking to sell the Mets by the end of 2020. Like many businesses in the country, the team could lose more than $200 million in revenue from the COVID-2019 pandemic, but in a normal year, the Mets were already losing tens of millions of dollars. Currently, the team is valued at $2.4 billion, according to Forbes.
