Kansas City Chiefs tight end could soon be a part-owner of a professional sports franchise.
According to ESPN’s Vaughn McClure, Kelce has joined up with an all-star group of athletes to bid on the New York Mets baseball franchise. Kelce joins athletes such as Hall of Fame linebacker Brian Urlacher, former Cowboys RB DeMarco Murray, former Browns offensive lineman Joe Thomas, former Yankees shortstop Alex Rodriguez and his fiance Jennifer Lopez.
McClure says that this group has been reported as the preferred choice by Mets COO Jeff Wilpon. They’ve officially submitted a bid for $1.7 billion dollars, which is $300 million less than the offer that New York hedge fund titan Steve Cohen reportedly submitted. It’s possible that even with a lesser offer, New York could opt to choose this group.
“This is a crazy opportunity,” Kelce told McClure. “I had a chance to meet Alex Rodriguez a couple years ago and just told him how much of a fan I was as a kid of him. I’m very thankful for the success that I’ve had in the NFL, to have an opportunity like this come across the table. I couldn’t think of a more unique set of people to be in charge of this.”
Kelce grew up as a Cleveland Indians fan in Cleveland Heights, Ohio and has long had an appreciation for baseball.
The New York Mets have won six NL East pennants, five NL titles and two World Series titles since the teams’ inception in 1962. They last appeared in the 2015 World Series, facing the Kansas City Royals. The Mets lost the series in five games to Kelce’s neighbors across the parking lot at Kauffman Stadium.
