According to an article in Tuesday’s New York Daily News, the New York Mets are “bleeding cash” and may lose up to $70 million this year. Details are to be published in an article in this week’s Sports Illustrated.
Fred Wilpon Says Mets Are ‘Bleeding Cash’
The article goes on to say that there was even more connection between owner Fred Wilpon and convicted financier Bernie Madoff than was reported in the New Yorker article about Wilpon this week:
SI also reports that the Mets turned to Madoff to help them get rid of outfielder Bobby Bonilla, a clubhouse malcontent, after the 1999 season. If the team released Bonilla, it would have had to pay him $5.9 million for the 2000 season. Mets officials instead offered to pay Bonilla nearly $1.2 million per year for 25 years, for a total of $29.8 million, beginning this July. The payments to Bonilla were based on an interest rate of 8%; the Mets planned on investing the Bonilla money with Madoff, whom they expected would give them a 10% to 12% return.
Further, Wilpon told Sports Illustrated that a minority share in the Mets might be sold for as much as $200 million and might be announced within the next three weeks.
The New York Daily News article ends with an unintentionally funny ad placement. Just below the final paragraph of the actual article, there is a link to an external site with the text: “Buy Mets Tickets”. Mets attendance is down over 13% from 2010 -- they could use the help.
See More:
