Alex Rodriguez has developed a reputation for being a businessman since retiring from baseball after the 2016 season, and his latest endeavor would put things on a whole new level.
Back in February, we shared that Rodriguez was expressing interest in potentially buying the New York Mets, whose deal with Steve Cohen fell through. On Monday, Variety reported that Rodriguez and his fiance Jennifer Lopez are working with a bank about putting together an offer for the team.
Despite their efforts, MLB reporter Jon Heyman says there is skepticism about the couple’s ability to come up with the money to buy the team. Keep in mind, Cohen’s price for the Mets was going to be $2.6 billion.
There’s some skepticism about A-Rod coming up with the funds to buy the Mets. Referring to the $2.6B price tag, one baseball executive says: “The chances of someone giving him that kind of money are zilch.”
— Jon Heyman (@JonHeyman) April 21, 2020
Heyman notes that the current environment couldn’t be worse in terms of banks giving out money for billion-dollar deals such as this one.
While Jeter came up w/the $ to buy the Marlins, and A-Rod has a rich partner (J-Lo), a baseball exec/A-Rod skeptic pointed to differences: 1. The Marlins aren’t the Mets (at 1.2B they cost about half as much) 2. The timing for raising $ isn’t good, and 3. Jeter’s rep is pristine.
— Jon Heyman (@JonHeyman) April 21, 2020
The combined net worth of Rodriguez and Lopez is said to be around $700 million. Even if they got the Mets for a discount in the current environment, a price above $2 billion would be three times the couple’s worth, and they wouldn’t be pouring their entire worth into the team. That means they would likely have to raise around $2 billion in capital.
With liquidity a premium during these uncertain times, the ability of Rodriguez to put together an offer would be challenging.
