The owners of the Mets, Fred and Jeff Wilpon, issued a statement Friday
announcing that they are seeking to sell a minority share of the team.
In the statement, the Wilpons acknowledge they are part of a lawsuit brought
against them by the trustee of the Bernie Madoff bankruptcy. The Wilpons had
a significant amount of money invested with Madoff, and despite claims that
they would be able to run the baseball team with no impact from the Madoff
swindling, the evidence over the last few years has mounted that the Wilpons
did, in fact, get too much of their savings wiped out. While most of their
payroll is taken up by aging and/or broken-down players, the fact remains
that New York has added just $7 million in payroll this offseason.
The Wilpons are considering allowing others to buy a minority stake in the
Mets "to address the air of uncertainty created by this lawsuit, and to
provide additional assurance that the New York Mets will continue to have the
necessary resources to fully compete and win."
The Wilpons made it clear that they will remain the majority partners, but
that could just as easily mean a 51 percent share. However unlikely, if
someone bought in for 49 percent, it would bring in what appears to be a very
needed infusion of cash.
And yet, it is going to be very difficult for the Wilpons to convince an
investor to fork over millions