Report: Steve Cohen will have hard time ever buying MLB team after deal falls through

Steve Cohen’s deal to purchase a majority ownership stake in the New York Mets is dead, and the deal falling apart will hinder the billionaire’s chances of ever buying an MLB team in the future, according to a report.

Reports first emerged on Tuesday saying that Cohen’s deal to purchase the Mets was falling apart. Cohen reportedly wanted to take over the team immediately rather than over a five-year span, and there supposedly were issues about the SNY TV network.

On Thursday, MLB commissioner Rob Manfred said he believed the deal was dead.

Later, MLB Network insider Jon Heyman said that not only was the deal dead, but also that this may have cost Cohen a chance at ever buying an MLB team.

Mets deal is dead, completely kaput. MLB doesn’t blame the Mets, who are expected to open up the sale in a more typical auction now. Also, after what happened here, belief is Stevie Cohen, despite his reported $13B, will have trouble ever buying any team.

— Jon Heyman (@JonHeyman) February 7, 2020

It’s unclear whether the Mets’ current majority owners, the Wilpons, dealt in bad faith, or whether it was Cohen. It probably was some mix of the two. But the end result is that the Mets will not be changing hands, and Cohen is on the outs with MLB.