According to a recent credible news report that was published by the Hollywood media outlet Variety, ‘Hustlers’ actress Jennifer Lopez and her retired baseball player fiancee Alex Rodriguez are seriously considering putting in a bid to purchase the major league baseball team, New York Mets. It seems that the couple has fixed their eyes on the Mets and is currently in talks with banking behemoth JP Morgan on how to go about raising the adequate capital that is required for this ambitious project.
Eric Menell, who serves as the co-chair of JP Morgan's North American media investment banking division, is reported to have been working hand-in-hand with the Hollywood power couple to help them with the deal. The Daily Mail reports that Jennifer Lopez's fiancee Alex Rodriguez was a die-hard New York Mets fanatic when he was a teenager. Rodriguez is said to have been highly excited regarding the idea of becoming an owner of the New York Mets.
Lopez and Rodriguez's dream to buy the New York Mets
Former major league baseball star Alex Rodriguez had recently made an appearance on ‘The Tonight Show With Jimmy Fallon,’ where he candidly talked to Fallon about the idea of owning the New York Mets someday.
He had shockingly admitted on the show that he went from being a New York Mets fanatic to an enthusiast of the Yankees as soon as he won a world series with the latter sports team. He also told Fallon that the 1986 championship game was one of the second-best nights of his life since his absolute best nights were during the birth of his two now-teenage daughters.
The New York Mets franchise has been in the Wilpon family ever since they purchased the major league baseball team for around $391 million way back in 2002. Notably, the Wilpon family's primary income comes from their successful real estate business. After owning the franchise for such a long period of time, the family decided in December of 2019 that it is the right time to let someone else manage the team's majority ownership.
Hedge Fund billionaire Steve Cohen grabbed that opportunity and bought an 80 percent stake in the baseball team. At the time of the deal, the team was valued at approximately $2.6 billion.
Even though Cohen had bought a majority stake in the sports team, the Wilpon family was still in charge of the team for five more years. However, due to a severe disagreement between the family and Cohen about the management of the Mets, the deal ultimately fell apart in January of this year. As per Variety, the New York-based investment bank Allen and Company is handling all of the matters related to the Mets' sale. This time, the Wilpon family has accepted to finally give up control of the team. But even if we keep the Wilpon family aside, there are numerous problems that Jennifer Lopez and fiancee Alex Rodriguez are going to face if they are serious about buying the Mets.
The power couple's financial status
The biggest obstacle in front of Lopez and Rodriguez when it comes to buying the baseball franchise is that they are going to have to incur massive losses of about $50 million annually. The second obstacle is that the couple will have to find a trustworthy partner to join them in this deal because it is next to impossible for them to buy this team alone considering they have an estimated net worth of $700 million and the team is worth $2.4 billion.
Jennifer Lopez's fiancee Alex Rodriguez, before retiring from playing baseball, was considered to be one of the highest-earning players in the entire history of major league baseball. Alex is reported to have earned more than $317 million from his contracts with the New York Yankees and the Texas Rangers.
Not only this, but he also amassed a significant portion of his fortune from making special appearances on major sports programs such as ESPN, Fox Sports, amongst others. His soon-to-be wife, Jennifer Lopez, a mega Hollywood superstar and singer, who recently performed at the Super Bowl halftime show with singer Shakira, is estimated to be worth around $400 million, as per Forbes magazine.