Alex Rodriguez’s dream of owning the New York Mets ended just as quickly as his dream of playing for them did. It’s a union that isn’t meant to be.
According to Thornton McEnery of the New York Post, Alex Rodriguez and Jennifer Lopez will not be the new owners of the New York Mets. The power couple has stopped its pursuit of a purchase after failing to gain enough capital.
McEnery points to the Wilpons’ “reluctance to part with SNY” as a major reason for J-Rod backing out of the potential purchase. Without the broadcast station, the Mets don’t make enough money to run. The team is losing tens of millions of dollars each season and could lose over $100 million due to COVID-19.
SNY makes enough money to keep the team from going under completely. It’s how the Wilpons have been able to operate to this point, and nobody is going to be willing to buy the team without its inclusion.
The only person who was willing to make such a deal was Steve Cohen. The hedge fund manager had enough money to deal with the losses the Mets have incurred every year, but nobody else will.
One banker went as far as to say “There is no way this team trades now without SNY. The Wilpons can play hardball as much as they want but no one can afford to own this team without the TV revenue. It literally doesn’t add up.”
The Wilpons are trying to squeeze every last bit of revenue they can out of the Mets for as long as they can. Whether it’s extra years in control or the revenue from SNY, they can’t help themselves.
It’s incredibly hard to see how they could find a buyer willing to spend billions of dollars for a team operating in the red. It’s not going to happen. If the Wilpons truly want to sell the team they’ll either have to give up SNY or call Cohen back and give up control.
There doesn’t seem to be a third option at this point.
