"Barring an upset," the trustees of late Jets Owner
Leon Hess' estate will select Johnson & Johnson heir Robert
Wood Johnson IV as the team's new owner this morning and
present their recommendation to the NFL Finance Committee,
according to Myers & Cimini of the N.Y. DAILY NEWS. One
person close to the negotiations, on Johnson: "They're [the
Hess estate] trying to push him through." Myers & Cimini
note that the winning bid "is expected to be about" $625M,
and approval of the new owner "could come as early as next
Tuesday" when the league's owners meet in N.Y. (N.Y. DAILY
NEWS, 1/11). In NJ, Randy Lange writes that Johnson
"appears poised to complete his spectacular bid to buy the
Jets" over Cablevision Chair Charles Dolan (Bergen RECORD,
1/11). ESPN's Charley Steiner reported that "all
indications" are that Johnson "will eventually own a team
that has no head coach or defensive coordinator. ... Seems
altogether fitting and proper that an heir to Johnson &
Johnson's fortune appears to be in line to take over a team
desperately in need of a Band-Aid" ("SportsCenter," ESPN,
1/10). On MSG's "SportsDesk," Marv Albert reported that
while "the finances are about the same," Goldman Sachs
"feels that NFL owners prefer the Johnson group so they are
leaning in that direction." N.Y. Post NFL columnist Steve
Serby called Johnson a "great choice. Some NFL owners,
especially [the Browns'] Al Lerner, did not want Charles
Dolan. Lerner is very influential with Paul Tagliabue,
they're childhood buddies ... and [Johnson] will be a hands
off owner, another incentive for [Bill] Parcells to come
back" ("SportsDesk," MSG, 1/10). FSN's Keith Olbermann:
"The NFL is clearly trying to get away from Dolan, on the
simple presence that he already owns ... almost everything
else" ("Primetime," 1/10). In Newark, Paul Needell cites a
source who said that Johnson was told "the team will be his
as long as his offer is within $25 million of Dolan's." The
source added that Johnson received $200M "from his family to
help him buy the Jets and that he plans to sell off minority
shares if he gets the team, although he will remain the
majority owner" (Newark STAR-LEDGER, 1/11).
LERNER DENIES PUTTING A BLOCK ON DOLAN: Lerner called
reports that he has lobbied other team owners against Dolan
"not true," but said that he does have "reservations" about
Dolan's Jets bid. Lerner: "I have some concerns about what
it means for the [NFL], but I have no concerns about Dolan
himself. And I have not ever done any lobbying or leading.
I have my own opinion, and I'm sure everybody has their
opinion" (Cleveland PLAIN DEALER, 1/11).
