Mets COO Jeff Wilpon appears to be the only family member pushing to retain control of the teamGETTY IMAGES
The Wilpon family, in their now potentially failed attempt to sell the Mets to billionaire Steve Cohen, wanted to keep "team control beyond the five years they agreed to and also wanted to extend their control of SNY," the Mets' RSN, for longer than the 20-year rights deal, according to a source cited by Deesha Thosar of the N.Y. DAILY NEWS. The Wilpons' "desire for extensions late in the process caused Cohen to walk out of the deal." A source said that Cohen still is "willing to restore negotiations, but only if they are under his terms and possibly only if those discussions involve immediate control as majority owner." Mets President Saul Katz, brother-in-law of Control Person & CEO Fred Wilpon and uncle to COO Jeff Wilpon, and his children "want no part of owning a team and would prefer to sell." A source said that among the Wilpon and Katz families, "only Jeff Wilpon wants to extend his ownership of the Mets." Cohen has been a minority owner of the team since '12, and his influence as majority owner was "expected to be an obvious remedy to the Mets' current financial structure and there is now pressure on the Wilpons to salvage what is left of the deal" (N.Y. DAILY NEWS, 2/6).
LAST-MINUTE CHANGES EXPECTED: In N.Y., Kevin Draper cites sources as saying that the deal to sell the Mets was "moving toward a conclusion when it hit a snag" with the Wilpons' "desire to retain control of the team after surrendering majority ownership, as well as on the schedule of payments Cohen would make." The sources said that while the dispute is "very real," both sides also could be "jockeying to gain leverage in a final deal." The Wilpons have "earned a reputation for requesting last-minute changes favorable to them in negotiations with their own partners, local government officials and even players they have tried to lure to the franchise." It is a "tactic common in real estate development," in which Fred Wilpon and Katz "made their fortune together" (N.Y. TIMES, 2/6).
FLAWED FROM THE START: In N.Y., Mike Vaccaro wrote from Day 1, the "five-year waiting period" was "going to be trouble." It was "going to be a cudgel for both sides: Cohen was wildly overpaying" for 80% of the team, and the sale price "didn't even include SNY." That was "his idea of a concession." In Cohen's mind, $2.6B "wasn't just a fair deal, but a generous one." Meanwhile, the Wilpons "could get a cash infusion and still run the team." If that gave Mets fans an "opportunity to stop slandering the family name for a little while, all the better" (N.Y. POST, 2/6).
