The Wilpon's are broke

[A.E]

How much financial trouble are the Wilpons in?

The speculation surrounding today’s announcement that the Wilpons are looking to sell a stake in the Mets has included chatter about just how hard the government is going after them as a result of the Bernie Madoff mess. The short version: the lawsuit filed against the Wilpons is to “claw back” money that Madoff gave to the Wilpons that, in reality, had been taken from investors farther down the pyramid. And no, it doesn’t matter if the Wilpons knew it was stolen money (which they apparently did not).

Against that backdrop came this tweet from Bart Hubbuch of the New York Post:

One of my sources from #Mets beat told me gov’t seeking $1B(!) clawback from Wilpon/Katz. No way they can keep the team if that’s true.

Hubbuch’s numbers are corroborated by Ken Belson of the New York Times, who has considerably more background here.

Even if these numbers are not accurate, however, the key point is clear: the Wilpons’ current financial situation is going to be directly impacted by how much the government is seeking in its clawback lawsuit. If it’s anything close to figure Hubbuch is reporting, they will have to sell way more than a minority share in the Mets. Indeed, they’ll likely have to sell the whole team.

-HBT

This is actually good news for Met fans...who, for the most part, cannot stand the Wilpons. I've been reading a lot into this story and despite the fact that they continue to downplay the situation...the Wilpons are in deep financial shit. This clawback lawsuit will force them to have to give back $1-billion and they will eventually have to sell the team. I was reading that the most likely scenario is that the Wilpons sell the Mets but don't sell SNY or Citi Field, both of which are bigger cash-cows than the franchise itself.

 

[Elite]

You actually think someone is going to buy the team if they're not buying the stadium and the TV network as well?

Don't be silly

 

[A.E]

You actually think someone is going to buy the team if they're not buying the stadium and the TV network as well?

Don't be silly

Yes, I do. A majority of owners don't own their own network and stadium.

 

[cruzg24]

Say it isnt so... Damn it man, now the Mets are going to have to relocate, lmao. From what Ive read, they said that they are trying to find another owner with approximately 20% share of the team. I do hope that the Wilpons sell as long as its to an owner who isnt afraid to spend on the team and they dont get involved with the general manager and his operations.
I dont what kind of people would want to buy the Mets, they are currently worth approximately 840 million or so, so its a good chunk of money. Mark Zuckerberg perhaps? lol

 

[Giantmetfan07]

Yeah I was reading this yesterday.

There's plenty of billionaires out there that would want to buy the team -- Own network, brand new state of the art ballpark, biggest market in the world.

Even if they aren't winning a smart rich man would be able to see how to use the money more wisely.


And this is typical Mets. Something bad happens, they downplay it like it's really not that serious, and then BAM everything goes to hell 4 months later.

Think about it:
Jose Reyes -- oh its just a minor leg injury. 1 month later its a tear.
Carlos Beltran -- Oh its just a bruised knee -- 6 months later, getting surgery and doesn't recover as fast as expected.

Time to start investing in the Mets baby. Let's all start pooling our money together!!

 

[Giantmetfan07]

But in all seriousness, this doesn't necessarily mean the Mets will be outright sold out to somebody like Mark Cuban -- the Wilpons own, from what I've read so far and I'm still trying to find a solid answer on this, close to 99% of the team. They are one of the few teams still owned by a family. Compared? The Steinbrenners only own about 32.9% of the Yankees, and yet are still the Majority owners.

Now, to say that somebody wouldn't want to become a "financial partner" of the Mets because they haven't been winning is actually quite absurd. The Mets are one of the most valued franchises in all of sports, never having ranked lower than 3rd in Baseball since 2001 by Forbes.

They are estimated by Forbes to currently be worth about $858M, taking a big hit by the Economy from 2009 when they were valued at $912M. They do however still make $20M per year for the next 18 years for CitiBank to put it's name on the stadium, which is apparently the most lucrative naming rights deal.

http://bizofbaseball.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=5048:weight-of-madoff-scandal-puts-portion-of-new-york-mets-up-for-sale&catid=26:editorials&Itemid=39

They are very valuable, and if they do it right they can probably sell off 65% of the team to multiple 'financial partners' and still have controlling interest in the team.

 

[Metfan4life]

:stan: I will buy the Mets

 

[Giantmetfan07]

:stan: I will buy the Mets

Iight you and me man. Let's do it!

How much ya got?

I'm good for like $200!!

 

[VC15]

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[Giantmetfan07]

MLK III and his group which includes former Met Ed Kranepool want to buy 50% of the team. Sha-wing!!


Also, Martin Silver who owns Georgi Vodka out in Long Island is interested in buying a minority share of the team as well. Seeing as we suck and the fans are probably alcoholics by now, this could be a great investment for him!

 

[cruzg24]

Sweet new owners!!! Now we might have owners who actually care and put up Mets stuff, like a Tom Seaver statue! And maybe a mets HOF induction to Keith Hernandez!

 

[Giantmetfan07]

right, because they didnt care about the team or the fans when they forked hundreds of millions into a brand new stadium.


Joke about how the Wilpons suck all you want, but don't hide from the fact that their hearts were always in the right place, they just put the wrong people in charge and they learned from their mistakes, whereas an owner like James Dolan makes a mistake, brings in someone to fix that mistake, and probably will go back to the original mistake (Isiah Thomas).

 

[footballplaya52]

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lulz

 

[Giantmetfan07]

uh oh, this is gonna get ugly...

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/02/02/sports/baseball/02mets.html?_r=1&ref=sports

When the Mets negotiated their larger contracts with star players — complex deals with signing bonuses and performance incentives — they sometimes adopted the strategy of placing deferred money owed the players with Mr. Madoff’s investment firm. They would have to pay the player, but the owners of the club would be able to make money for themselves in the meantime. There never seemed to be much doubt about that, according to several people with knowledge of the arrangements.

“Bernie was part of the business plan for the Mets,” a former employee of the club said.

But interviews with current and former associates of Mr. Wilpon and Mr. Katz, as well as former employees of the club, former employees of Mr. Madoff and others, make it clear that the relationship was substantial and that the role Mr. Madoff played in the financial life of the ball club and the Wilpon and Katz families was pervasive.

“They both relied on one another,” he said. “It was reciprocal, symbiotic. They both relied on each other for money, and Bernie also relied on Fred for contacts.”

One former executive with the Mets recalled how it could work:

“I remember vividly Madoff’s name being brought up a lot when” the team “would negotiate contracts, particularly with deferments,” said the former executive, who would not be identified because he did not want to harm his career in baseball. “That money would be turned over to Madoff.

 

[cruzg24]

right, because they didnt care about the team or the fans when they forked hundreds of millions into a brand new stadium.


Joke about how the Wilpons suck all you want, but don't hide from the fact that their hearts were always in the right place, they just put the wrong people in charge and they learned from their mistakes, whereas an owner like James Dolan makes a mistake, brings in someone to fix that mistake, and probably will go back to the original mistake (Isiah Thomas).

They are very meddling when it comes to what the general manager does. Sure they put up the big bucks, but thats what your supposed to do. They have hired really bad general managers and they always give us the same bullshit that they expect better and that it will be better. Where are the results? The Mets are the worst team with the amount of payroll they have in all of MLB.