The truly shocking things are that 1) nobody realized this sooner and 2) that Selig has handled the Dodgers and Mets situation in such drastically different ways. The Wilpons have always cared more about money than winning, not to mention that Fred is a flipping Dodgers fan in the first place.

Also, the comments debunk some of the math in the article, but either way, its a very interesting and well-written piece.

Short version seems to be that the Wilpons raided SNY in 2007 to pay themselves a $240M dividend, paid for by borrowing against future revenues.

Madoff exploded late 2008, I wonder if they placed that money with their buddy.

McCourt is an abrasive prick. The Wilpons, whatever their other faults are, are friends with Bud.

Please please please please let the Mark Cuban era in New York begin soon!

Some of these numbers are off (that refinancing took place in 2010, not 2007, which explains the Madoff discrepancy), and I don't know what the guy in the comments section is talking about. The city owes the Mets $600+ million for the stadium, not the other way around? Guess that explains why the Mets needed a $40 million loan this week to... receive around $25 million from the city?

And to be frank... that things are this bad this is awfully old news.

The fascinating part is what comes next, especially relating to the trial. That's both what sheds a light on how we got here, and probably holds the key to ending this whole charade.

WTG Bud. Let them keep humiliating their fans and embarrassing baseball. This will be your Waterloo.

Does anyone know what it costs to runa team, independant of player salaries. The author has revenues and player salaries, and surmises that the big difference is being eaten up by debt service.

I have always wondered about front office expenses; medical staff; manager and coach salaries; travel costs; office costs; minor league player costs; minor league operations costs; lodging expenses; equipment and uniform costs; spring training costs; marketing costs; insurance costs; and the like. Several of those items are multi-million dollar single line costs; could it cost, say $100 million in non-25 man roster costs?

The best information I've seen on non player expenses was written by Doug Pappas as seen here The article is from 2002, but that information shows the Mets with the 4th highest non player expenses at $75 million.

Looking at the leaked financial documents on Deadspin for the Angels, it looks like their non player expenses were around $89 million in 2009.

#9 The best (that I'm aware of) that's available online is Zimbalist on the Marlins.


A Fish Story

Zimbalist goes into greater detail in Baseball and Billions, but the numbers in there are quite old.

the Wilpons are scarcely any better than the McCourts.

Will the Mets never stop trying to horn in on the Dodger legacy?

"The best information I've seen on non player expenses was written by Doug Pappas"

Imagine the info we'd all have gotten in the last couple of years if Pappas was still with us. The main loss of course is to his family and friends, point conceded.

But damn, was he good. And a nice guy as well, when I spoke to him by phone.

What I honestly don't get at this point is why the Wilpons believe that there was any better endgame for them than the Einhorn deal. Yes, it gave him a clear path to ownership of the team, but if they really understood that they couldn't pay him back the $200M, and thus would lose the team, then they must also realize they are dead anyway. If that's so, why not take the 3-year lifeline he represented and hope for a miracle?

And if they don't think they are dead, then they should think that they would have been able to pay him back his $200M. So why were they worried about his option? It just makes no sense ...

What I honestly don't get at this point is why the Wilpons believe that there was any better endgame for them than the Einhorn deal.

They'd rather take the chance of catching lightning in a bottle (read: World Series) to turn the whole franchise around. They can't afford the outlay of actually constructing a contender, but baseball's a strange game - could be a winning lottery ticket.

They'd rather take the chance of catching lightning in a bottle (read: World Series) to turn the whole franchise around.

But if that happens, the revenue turn-around would have allowed them to pay off Einhorn, too. Why not take the breathing room he was giving them? Did they really just resent the idea of what he represented -- the looming end of their control of the team?

Sam M, as a Braves fan I don't follow this mess closely but I do recall reading some articles in a non-baseball publication (probably national business) a couple of years ago stating and/or speculating, I can't remember which, that the Wilpon's real estate ventures were in serious financial trouble and his only hope to pull through was the Mets/SNY cash flow.

What else does Fred Wilpon owe on and is it cash flow positive in-total? If the other stuff needs money as well, Fred is spinning plates and looking for help for far bigger stakes than just the Mets.

Do the Mets have any money?

This isn’t an easy question to answer directly, but no.

Is it possible the Wilpons are hoping that real estate makes a miracle comeback? It's a puzzler. It's also possible that the Wilpons simply took a disliking to Einhorn, even though it might not have been in their best interests to do so. Deals have gone kerflooery over less. It won't surprise me if it comes out that the Wilpons felt taken advantage of, and while Fred was getting hammered one night on Cristal one of his stable of underage hookers said, "Freddy, you must have ten pals with twenny millyun each. Whaddya need with this Einhorny guy for?"

What else does Fred Wilpon owe on and is it cash flow positive in-total? If the other stuff needs money as well, Fred is spinning plates and looking for help for far bigger stakes than just the Mets.

I don't recall anything in-depth solely on their real estate holdings...

Sterling American Property Fund V has defaulted on a 35 million dollar mortgage and has handed over a 43-story tower in SanFran to lenders. The Teachers Retirement System of Louisiana invested 35 million with the fund and by the end of 2010 their investment was valued at 18.1 million dollars. Sterling Equities (Wilpon of course) invested 150 million into the fund and they now expect to get only 85% of their capital back. Their fifth fund was their latest fund, created during the height of the boom (2006). It was their largest fund (twice the size of their 4th fund) and focused on office buildings and apartment complexes in midsize cities and suburbs. Apparently they even owned some buildings in my hometown of Naperville. And I know first hand that Naperville has seen property value plummet and hasn't seen it rebound yet. Apparently there are several large buildings with loans due, leases expiring, and revenue falling below debt service which of course is and will be a drain on capital.

And by the way Madoff had his ponzi scheme invest in this fund.

Thanks McCoy. Good to know. The less promising for the Wilpons, the better.