For $20 Mil, You Too Can Be a Mets Loser

In the name of Mookie Wilson, what are the owners of Major League Baseball's New York Metropolitans thinking?

In an offer that must have David Letterman's writing staff smiling, the the New York Mets are offering 4 percent ownership stakes in their beleaguered ball club. For the past four months, the Mets have been searching high and far for 10-12 minority partners to invest $20 million each, according to the New York Times. Not surprisingly, it hasn't been smooth sailing.

Fred Wilpon and Saul Katz, controlling owners of the Mets, lost a combined $70 million last season and could lose millions, if not billions, more in a trial being pushed by the trustee for Bernie Madoff's ponzi scheme victims. While the National League club waits for a financial life raft, the team picked up a $40 million bank loan to slow the bleeding for the next few months.

The Wilpons need to raise more than $200 million through this minority ownership blueprint. But so far they've been unable to find enough bigwigs to take them up on the offer. The New York Times obtained the term sheet given by the Mets owners to potential co-ownership buyers. It's a package that seems like it came out of a minor league baseball promotion handbook...More