Former All-Star Alex Rodriguez and his wife, pop star Jennifer Lopez, have retained JPMorgan Chase in order to raise funds for a potential bid for the New York Mets, according to Scott Soshnick of Variety.
Per Soshnick, Rodriguez and Lopez are working with JPMorgan Chase’s co-head of North American media investment banking, Eric Menell on the venture.
The report reignites the rumors of Rodriguez making a play for buying the Mets, a team he idolized growing up in Miami.
In early February, Rodriguez was linked with the Mets shortly after billionaire Steve Cohen’s bid to buy the franchise fell through.
Cohen — a hedgefund-managing billionaire worth approximately $13.7 billion — entered negotiations to buy the team in December for $2.6 billion from the Wilpon family, who have owned the team since 2002.
Talks began unraveling in early February when amNewYork Metro first reported that Cohen and the Wilpons could not agree on an effective transition.
On Feb. 7, both parties announced the deal was dead as Cohen attempted to amend terms.
Per Soshnick, Rodriguez and Lopez have a combined net worth of $700 million, meaning they would have to lead of buyers to take over the Mets — much like Rodriguez’s former Yankees teammate, Derek Jeter, did when taking over the Miami Marlins.
