98.5 The Sports Hub staff report
Former MLB superstar Alex Rodriguez is interested in getting back into baseball. This time as an owner, and with Jennifer Lopez, with a report suggesting that the super-couple has retained JPMorgan with the idea of raising funds for a bid to buy the New York Mets.
From Variety:
The superstar couple is working with managing director Eric Menell, the bank’s co-head of North American media investment banking, said the people, who were granted anonymity because the matter is private. Menell didn’t respond to several requests seeking comment. Representatives for Rodriguez and Lopez did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
If there’s one couple who could pull off such a purchase, it’s the Rodriguez-Lopez combo, as Forbes estimates that Rodriguez made nearly $500 million dollars during his MLB career while J’Lo has a reported net worth of $400 million.
Nevertheless, this potential jump into ownership for A-Rod and J’Lo would almost certainly require some extra capital from outside sources, as the Mets were valued at over $2 billion when Steve Cohen tried to buy the team from The Wilpons last December. That deal ultimately fell apart when Cohen tried to alter the original agreement and has since left the Wilpons, who have been the sole owner of the Mets since 2002, looking for a new buyer.
Rodriguez and Lopez both have connections to New York, of course, but they’re both on the other side of this Big Apple rivalry, as Rodriguez spent 12 years with the Yankees. Lopez, meanwhile, hails from The Bronx.
If successful in their attempt, Rodriguez would join former teammate Derek Jeter as an owner within the National League East, as Jeter owns five percent of the Miami Marlins but acts as the team’s primary decision-maker in all baseball matters.