When a Mets potential seller pulls one way, it seems the Wilpons always pull the other. And today, the Wilpons pulled away SNY.
In a report from the New York Post, the Wilpons are still interested in selling the team, but they do not want to include the profitable broadcast network in that deal, of which they own 65% of.
As power-couple Alex Rodriguez and Jennifer Lopez continue their quest to purchase the franchise, the Wilpon’s decision could stall the deal, as J-Rod’s plan included the purchase of SNY to offset the money-loss of the Mets.
Rodriguez and Lopez seem to have reached an agreement with a new billionaire partner for the deal in Wayne Rothbaum, who is the CEO of Quogue Capital, an investment company specializing in life sciences. Rothbaum replaces Jorge Mas as the main moneyman in the deal after Mas rejected the offer.
Although this recent agreement does make their bid for the team more realistic, the idea of buying the team without SNY is ludicrous.
A source familiar with the sale, told the Post that selling the team in the current environment without SNY is not a realistic possibility. The team is losing up to $90 million per season, and in order to offset that, the broadcast company is necessary.
The original deal with Steve Cohen that fell apart back in February did not include the broadcast company, but the idea that someone will buy solely the team now is highly unlikely. According to The Post, Cohen was the only one who was going to do that, and he does not currently have any plans to re-enter the deal in any way, which is contrary to the report yesterday.
