Celebrity power couple Jennifer Lopez and Alex Rodriguez have not given up their quest to become owners of the New York Mets, the New York Post reported Tuesday. Despite news that Steve Cohen has emerged as the favorite to win the bid, that seems to have only strengthened J-Rod's resolve.
"It ain't over until it is over," Lopez said to The Post. "We are New Yorkers and we are not going to give up. We feel we have the best bid for the sport, the team and the city."
In order to make their bid more appealing to the Wilpons, Lopez is reportedly going to be the control person for the team. Should this go through, it would make the Grammy-nominated artist the first woman and Latina woman in that specific position. It would also have the added benefit of removing concerns over getting the league to give Rodriguez ownership approval. Getting suspended for violating MLB's performance-enhancing drug policy, and waging a PR war against the league as a result, tends to make you a maligned figure.
That being said, hangups on Cohen's end are what's reportedly keeping the J-Lo/A-Rod bid alive. The billionaire hedge fund manager paid a $1.8 billion fine for insider trading and currently has a sexual discrimination suit against him, making it far from a guarantee that he could get the 23 necessary votes from the 30 owners to get control of the Mets.
Rodriguez has promised to compete for a World Series title annually as an owner because it's "what New York fans deserve," and the couple says they'll help deliver a championship within a decade by increasing the payroll to around $225 million. If they don't deliver on their title aspirations, they said they will donate $100 million to New York charities.
The Wilpons are reportedly looking to sell the team before the end of the year for tax purposes.
