MLB appoints man in debt, Fred Wilpon, to run its books
By Scott Allen
MLB has decided to let a guy who doesn’t know how to handle money be its head of finance
New York Mets owner and CEO Fred Wilpon, a man who knows what serious debt looks like, has been appointed by incoming commissioner Rob Manfred to be the new head of MLB’s finance committee. Seems logical, right?
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Wilpon hasn’t exactly been a great example of how to handle one’s finances. Let’s see, he lost over $700 million in Bernie Madoff’s Ponzi scheme. That was just a little thing that bilked a lot of people out of millions.
Wilpon has also showed people how you can keep players on a payroll for 50 years, just defer their contracts. Bobby Bonilla played in the majors from 1986 and retired in 2001. He got a contract in 1999 that will pay him until 2035 at a rate of almost $1.2 million per year. Many current Mets players don’t make that much. The contract was for one season but since the payments were deferred, he will be earning money for another 20 years until the age of 71.
Deadspin, who published the original report, thinks Manfred really just appointed Wilpon to the post because its a “nothing” position out of the spotlight but did so as a thank you for all his contributions.
Well, maybe so.
I think this is just another way of baseball being ignorant. Whether it is a position that doesn’t garner the spotlight or not, you are putting a guy in charge of your finances that hasn’t exhibited control of his personal or the team’s finances in the best light.
Wilpon is a friend of outgoing commissioner Bud Selig’s and Manfred is Selig’s guy, so nothing surprises me anymore. Now he won’t just make the Mets inept but could very well do the same to the league and nothing could ever be said about it.
Maybe in a sense it is a smart move on MLB’s part? This way they have a fall guy if things go south fast but the way Wilpon has managed his finances in the past it makes you wonder just how fast things will go bad if they do go south?
Wilpon has been with the Mets in some capacity since 1980, so if things don’t go the way they should, it could be difficult to replace him. Owners can do pretty much what they want and since Wilpon will now have a role within MLB as well running its finances one can probably expect a huge increase in ticket prices soon, right? We’ll see.
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