CELEBRITY power couple Alex Rodriguez and Jennifer Lopez reportedly have turned to some heavy hitters associated with other sports in yet another bid to purchase the New York Mets.
Per ESPN, Pro Football Hall of Fame linebacker Brian Urlacher, Super Bowl champion Travis Kelce, former NFL running back DeMarco Murray and retired offensive lineman Joe Thomas have joined the National Basketball Association’s Bradley Beal (Washington Wizards) and Mason Plumlee (Denver Nuggets) as investors in the bid.
“Being a former athlete and having a chance to be a part of a group trying to purchase a professional team, it’s pretty cool,” Urlacher told ESPN on Monday. “It’s especially cool to be involved with Alex. Alex is the man. You’ve got Kelce, Joe Thomas, DeMarco Murray. It’s great to be in a group with them.”
“We couldn’t be more excited to have such high-quality individuals as part of our group,” Rodriguez and fiancee Lopez said in a combined statement, according to CBSSports.com.
The group reportedly made an initial bid of $1.7 billion, per ESPN. The former New York Yankees slugger and Bronx-born actress/singer have reportedly ponied up $300 million of their own money toward the bid.
The sum total, however, trails the $2 billion made by hedge fund billionaire Steve Cohen, according to a report by the New York Post.
Per the newspaper, Mets chief operating officer Jeff Wilpon would prefer to sell to the Rodriguez-Lopez group if its offer is close to the best bid at the end of the auction.
The Wilpons are willing to package SNY, the Mets’ cable network, for sale along with the club, the New York Post reported.
The Wilpons’ previous unwillingness to include SNY in the deal helped sink the first bid from Rodriguez and Lopez, the newspaper reported.
In April, Forbes placed the Mets’ value at $2.4 billion, a 4% rise from last year. The Mets ranked sixth on Forbes list of values for Major League Baseball teams, trailing only the Yankees ($5 billion), Los Angeles Dodgers ($3.4 billion), Boston Red Sox ($3.3 billion), Chicago Cubs ($3.2 billion) and San Francisco Giants ($3.1 billion).
Rodriguez, 44, was a three-time Most Valuable Player and 14-time All-Star in a 22-year major league career that included stints with the Seattle Mariners (1994-2000), Texas Rangers (2001-03) and Yankees (2004-13). His career accomplishments were tarnished by his admitted use of performance-enhancing substances.
Lopez, 50, has enjoyed success as both a movie star and a singer. Fox Business reported in February that her net worth is between $225 million and $400 million, with Rodriguez’s net worth estimated at $300 million to $350 million. — Reuters
