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In a huge power play, it appears that former Yankee star, Alex Rodriguez and Jennifer Lopez are seriously moving toward buying the New York Mets.
According to Variety, the couple has retained Eric Menell, JP Morgan Chase’s co-head of North American media investment banking to assist them in raising the $2.6 billion asking price for the team.
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Combined, Lopez and Rodriguez have a net worth of $700 million, they would require partners to raise the capital for the purchase.
A previous potential sale of the team to billionaire hedge fund manager Steve Cohen fell apart last year after the Wilpon family, the current owners, attached control of the team for the first five years after the sale as a condition of the purchase. In selling the team to Rodriguez and Lopez, the family has reportedly attached no conditions.
The purchase of the Mets would be a full-circle moment for A-Rod who in 2000 considered joining the team during his free agency. He ultimately signed with the Texas Rangers for $252 million. He was later traded to the Yankees, where he won a World Series.
Perhaps A-Rod wants to follow in the steps of his former Yankee teammate, Derek Jeter, who is a proud team owner. Jeter contributed $25 million to a collective that purchased the Florida Marlins. Jeter runs business and baseball operations for the club.
These moves are important as MLB looks to diversify their organizations from the inside out.
USA Today revealed last year, that there have only been five African American General Managers in baseball history. There are also three franchises who have yet to hire a minority to be their GM or manager: the St. Louis Cardinals, Minnesota Twins, and Oakland Athletics.
Having minorities owning a club could potentially shift this startling statistic.
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Just last month, Rodriguez talked to Jimmy Fallon about the idea, “Here’s what it is. I love New York City, number one. A lot of people don’t know this. Growing up I was a big Mets fan and with the exception of my daughter’s birth, both of them, the best years of my life were 1986 and 2009, when we won,” Rodriguez said, “I will say this. If the opportunity came up, I would certainly look at it. And maybe you can buy them with me. I need a partner!”
It looks like he has found the perfect partner in his future wife.
Herself an entertainment industry icon, J-Lo is an award-winning recording star and iconic actress. She most recently starred in Hustlers, a story about a group of women who work in a strip club. The film was lauded as a career-defining role for the actress.
The couple was engaged on March 9, 2020.