The Reason Why Steve Cohen Reportedly Fears MLB Owners Won't Let Him Buy Mets

These Mets ownership stories can all kind of blend together until there's a resolution as to who will buy the franchise from the Wilpons. However, Fox Business reporter Charles Gasparino has been on top of the story and has an interesting thread today saying that the A-Rod/J. Lo group could bid close to the $2 billion billionaire hedge funder Steve Cohen is bidding, and that Cohen's inner circle has some concerns as to whether MLB owners will let him in their club.

"People close to him are getting nervous that the league and fellow owners are institutionally against a super rich Wall Street guy taking over the team, and that the problem doesn't mainly involve his brush with insider trading a few years back," Gasparino tweeted. "The Cohen people worry that owners will fear that he will use his bank account to bid up player salaries. Remember, the MLB is a club and the owners will likely have a say on the new Mets owner."

Who knows how founded these concerns are but they're fascinating to talk about. It does make logical sense on some level that the other 29 MLB owners would be worried about someone richer than they are and ultra competitive bidding up their costs. For years, the Wilpons have not spent on the Mets like you would expect a franchise located in New York with their own TV network to do in a sport with no hard salary cap. Don't think for a second that the other owners don't love the fact that one of their rivals is not only possibly suppressing wages, but also not as competitive as they could be on the field.

I have long thought that this is one of the reasons the NBA does not ever do anything about James Dolan, who is prone to embarrassing outbursts. The other owners love the fact that the Knicks are guaranteed to stink. (However, it should also be noted that they respect Dolan's business acumen. I've personally seen him have better arguments in a debate about media rights and digital streaming with Mark Cuban.)

We'll see who winds up with the Mets -- don't believe anything is completely finished until the ink is dry on the contract.







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Ryan Glasspiegel grew up in Connecticut, graduated from University of Wisconsin-Madison, and lives in Chicago. Before OutKick, he wrote for Sports Illustrated and The Big Lead. He enjoys expensive bourbon and cheap beer.