Derek Jeter and Jeb Bush might not have enough money to buy the Marlins yet
On Tuesday, a couple of reports surfaced that a group fronted by former New York Yankees star Derek Jeter and former Florida governor (and brother of former president George W. Bush) Jeb Bush had won the auction to buy the Miami Marlins.
The news wasn’t confirmed by MLB, the Marlins, Jeter, or Bush, and neither was the $1.3 billion price tag. Though the Marlins did confirm that the Jeter-Bush group was among the groups that had made bids, reports of bid’s acceptance probably won’t be confirmed until things are more final.
[Sign up for Yahoo Fantasy Baseball: It’s not too late to get in the game]
But a new report has revealed a possible hiccup in their plans. And that hiccup is green with little pictures of the presidents on it. The Wall Street Journal reported late on Tuesday that Bush and Jeter don’t have all the money for the sale together yet.
As recently as Monday afternoon, the Jeter-Bush group was calling bankers and potential investors in search of hundreds of millions of dollars, said two people familiar with the efforts.
That’s not entirely surprising since the reported sale price is $1.3 billion. Both Bush and Jeter have a lot of money, but they don’t have that much money. The WSJ elaborated on Jeter and Bush’s positions in the possible sale.
Bush and Jeter are expected to be minority owners and serve in public-facing roles, while other investors would put up the bulk of the purchase price.
If this report is true, it’s not a small problem that Jeter and Bush’s group don’t have the money together yet, but it may not be a lasting one. With the report that their bid to purchase the Marlins had been accepted, that might make people more eager to put up some cash and join them, since it seems like the sale is on its way to approval. (And who wouldn’t want to own part of a baseball team if given the chance?)
But even beyond that, Jeter and Bush probably won’t have an issue getting the money together eventually, considering who they are. Bush is a former Florida governor, and well-known both in and out of the state thanks to his time as a presidential candidate. And Derek Jeter is still one of the most famous athletes in the world, even though he retired in 2014. Jeter is a name that people definitely want to be associated with, especially in baseball.
On these calls they’re making to possible investors, I imagine that Bush is probably the info and numbers guy, and Jeter is definitely the closer. Imagine being on the receiving end of a call from Derek Jeter, and right before he asks you for millions of dollars, he tells you a never-before-heard story about his time with the Yankees.
The response to that would likely be, “So where do I send the check?”
More MLB coverage from Yahoo Sports:
– – – – – –
Liz Roscher is a writer for Big League Stew on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email her at lizroscher@yahoo.com or follow her on twitter! Follow @lizroscher
