Alex Rodriguez, Jennifer Lopez looking to raise capital to bid on Mets

Late last night, a Variety exclusive report revealed that Alex Rodriguez and his fiancé, singer Jennifer Lopez, are looking to raise capital in order to place a bid to purchase the Mets. The report cited people close to the matter, adding that they have retained JP Morgan Chase and are working closely with Managing Director Eric Menell. No further comment from either side had been given.

This is not the first time the subject of A-Rod and J Lo purchasing the Mets has been broached. Back in February, the New York Post stated that the former Yankees third baseman had emerged as a potential buyer for the Mets. A-Rod is a native New Yorker who reportedly grew up a big Mets fan and flirted with signing with the club during his free agency before taking a more lucrative deal to play for the Texas Rangers.

Back in December, news broke that the Wilpons were looking to sell up to 80% of the team to hedge fund manager Steve Cohen for $2.6 billion. News of the deal remained quiet in the months that followed, until news started to leak that the deal was “fading fast” around the beginning of February. It became clear a few days later that the deal was officially dead after Cohen tried to amend the original terms when it became clear Jeff wanted to retain control of the club for longer than the five years originally agreed upon in the original deal.

With the deal dead, it became clear the Wilpons were still looking to sell the team in the immediate future. Rodriguez and Lopez have a combined worth at an estimated $700 million, so they still have a ways to go before they have the capital necessary to place a competitive bid. If they were to buy the team, it would likely look something similar to Derek Jeter’s successful purchase of the Miami Marlins, where he worked with a venture capitalist to place the bid and owns about 4% of the team while running baseball operations.