Steve Cohen backed out of deal to buy Mets after Wilpons wanted longer than five years of control

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Frazier played four seasons in MLB, from 1947-1956. He called it quits after 217 total games and moved on to managing in the minor leagues.
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Collins is the only manager in Mets history to never take the field as a player in MLB. He came close, though. The Pirates drafted Collins in 1971. He spent the ensuing 10 seasons in the Pirates and Dodgers' minor league systems, rising to AAA.
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Manuel never played a full season in the majors, but had stints with the Tigers, Montreal Expos and Padres over five years.
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Green spent one year with the Mets as a player in 1966. Overall, he pitched to a 4.26 career earned run average over eight seasons, mostly spent with the Phillies.
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While many recognize Yogi Berra as a Yankee who won 10 World Series titles, he not only managed the Mets but played for them as well. After the Mets signed the catcher in 1965, Berra appeared in four games and drove in a run before ending his 19 years as a player.
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New York Mets owners Fred, left, and Jeff Wilpon attend a news conference at Citi Field, Monday, Nov. 4, 2019, in New York. Carlos Beltran, two years removed from his playing career and with no managerial experience, has been picked by the New York Mets to replace Mickey Callaway. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)
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Randolph had a lengthy career that, like so many of his managing predecessors, was spent mostly in New York. The career .276 hitter won two World Series championships during 13 years with the Yankees and holds MLB's No. 5 spot for most games played at second base. He played his 18th and final season with the Mets in 1992.
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Johnson's playing career spanned 13 years on the right side of the infield. He appeared in 157 games for the Atlanta Braves in 1973, the year he was named to his fourth and final All-Star game as a player. His stops also included the Orioles, Phillies and Chicago Cubs.
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The new New York Mets manager, Carlos Beltran, center, poses for a picture with general manager Brodie Van Wagenen, left, and Mets COO Jeff Wilpon during a news conference at Citi Field, Monday, Nov. 4, 2019, in New York. Beltran, two years removed from his playing career and with no managerial experience, has been picked by the Mets to replace Mickey Callaway. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)
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Callaway appeared in a career-high 23 games during the 2003 season. He compiled a 1-7 record and pitched to a 6.27 ERA over his five total season with the Tampa Bay Devil Rays, Angels and Texas Rangers.
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A member of the 1969 World Champion Mets, Harrelson spent 13 of his 16 professional seasons in Queens. An exceptional shortstop, Harrelson is also remembered for his benches-clearing brawl with the Cincinnati Reds' Pete Rose during the 1973 NLCS. The Mets went on to win the National League pennant.
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Rojas spent time in the minor league systems of the Orioles, Marlins and Expos/Nationals from 2000 through 2005. He has spent more than a decade in the Mets organization in different roles before becoming manager.
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Beltran's career spanned two decades and included Rookie of the Year honors, nine All-Star Selections and a World Series ring. Beltran never managed a game for the Mets, leaving the team just over two months after his hiring. He was named by MLB as one of the players participating in the 2017 Astros' sign-stealing scandal during their championship season. Seven of his most productive years came with the Mets, including 2006 when he helped them to the 2006 NLCS with 41 home runs and 116 RBIs — though fans get on him for striking out to end Game 7.

PUBLISHED: February 5, 2020 at 8:15 p.m. | UPDATED: February 6, 2020 at 3:54 a.m.

Steve Cohen is absolutely not playing around.

The hedge-fund billionaire informed the Wilpons he is walking out of his prospective bid to purchase an 80% stake in the Mets franchise after ownership changed the terms of the original deal.

Under the original agreement, announced on Dec. 4, Fred Wilpon, 83, would remain in his role of Mets CEO and control person and Jeff Wilpon would remain in his role of COO through the 2024 season.

According to a source familiar with the situation, the Wilpons wanted team control beyond the five years they agreed to and also wanted to extend their control of SNY, the Mets’ cable network, for longer than the 20-year rights deal.

The Wilpons’ desire for extensions late in the process caused Cohen to walk out of the deal. Cohen is still willing to restore negotiations, but only if they are under his terms and possibly only if those discussions involve immediate control as majority owner, according to a source.

Fred and Jeff Wilpon attend a news conference in November to announce the hiring of former manager Carlos Beltran.

Mets president Saul Katz, brother-in-law to Fred Wilpon and uncle to Jeff Wilpon, and his children want no part of owning the team and would prefer to sell. Among the Wilpons/Katz family, only Jeff Wilpon wants to extend his ownership of the Mets, according to a source.

Cohen has been a minority owner of the club since 2012. The 63-year-old oversees hedge fund firm Point72 Asset Management and is reported by Forbes to have a fortune worth $13.6 billion. His influence was expected to be an obvious remedy to the Mets’ current financial structure and there is now pressure on the Wilpons to salvage what is left of the deal.

This is not the first time the Wilpons changed provisions of an impending deal to sell the team. In 2011, hedge fund manager David Einhorn was in line to become majority owner, but the Wilpons altered the original agreement, which led to the end of those negotiations and later broke off the deal.

The Mets released a legalized statement Tuesday declining comment after Barstool Sports Radio aired a rumor that Steve Cohen’s prospective purchase of the team was in dire jeopardy.

“The parties are subject to confidentiality obligations, including a mutual non-disclosure agreement, and therefore cannot comment,” Sterling Partners, the Mets’ ownership group, said.

Mets GM Brodie Van Wagenen maintained that it was “business as usual” when asked last month about Cohen’s involvement in the team’s recent transactions, including appointing Luis Rojas to the managerial role following Carlos Beltran’s departure.

Fred Wilpon has been the majority owner of the Mets since 2002, when he bought the remaining half of the franchise from Nelson Doubleday Jr. The Mets have since endured 11 losing seasons with just three trips to the playoffs and zero World Series championships to show for it.

Pitchers and catchers report to spring training in Port St. Lucie next week, and it would be in Mets ownership’s best interests to settle the reports surrounding Cohen and his broken deal to takeover as majority owner in the coming days.