According to multiple sources familiar with the situation, J-Rod is assembling an ownership group of four to five people that could pay up front for the entire franchise. But insiders also point out that the Wilpon family, which has been trying to sell the team for months, might have to accept a low offer thanks to the financial impact of the pandemic.
“He’s got a group with some real names,” one source familiar with the J-Rod bid told The Post. “Alex is gonna get this because of COVID. It’s gonna fall in his lap.”
Multiple sources say the key money player in the arrangement being put together by investment bankers at JPMorgan would appear to be Miami billionaire Jorge Mas, who tried to buy the Miami Marlins in 2017 but lost out to a group fronted by A-Rod’s former Yankees teammate and longtime frenemy Derek Jeter.
Forbes has estimated Mas’ net worth at just over $1 billion. Mas is no stranger to installing living sports legends in ownership positions, having staked a large part of David Beckham’s bid in Major League Soccer’s newest franchise, Inter Miami.
“I can see Mas being A-Rod’s money guy here,” said one source familiar with the Miami power player. “He and Alex went to the same high school and [both have a connection with the University of Miami]. They’re birds of a feather.”
But while Mas might not have pockets as deep as the Mets’ most recent suitor, $11 billion hedge funder Steve Cohen — who had a deal to pay $2.6 billion for 80 percent of the team before it fell apart dramatically in February — it might not matter, as the Wilpons are now thought to be desperate to unload the team.
“A motivated seller has a problem right now,” a source close to the Wilpons told The Post. “I think the Wilpons are motivated sellers.”
With the season indefinitely postponed by the pandemic, the Mets are pulling in almost no revenue from tickets or in-stadium sales, and they are also responsible for at least a portion of the lump $170 million down payment shared by all 30 teams to the players (with potentially more money owed to players if games are played). The Wilpons have had cashflow problems for years, creating debts that would turn toxic if this season were even cut in half.
Based on projections done by The Post and multiple conversations with sources familiar with the Wilpons’ finances, playing only 50 home games at Citi Field this year would cost the Wilpons more than $150 million.
The Mets declined to comment on these figures.