After many, many, many rumors over the past few years that Derek Jeter was interested in owning the Miami Marlins, or was about to own the Marlins, or had completely lost interest in owning the Marlins, it turns out that Derek Jeter is just a step away (keep reading) from actually owning the Marlins. That was anti-climactic.
The almost-official sale was reported by the Miami Herald on Friday, as the owner of nearly 16 years, Jeffrey Loria, agreed to give the team to a 16-investor ownership group (fronted by Jeter and NY businessman/venture capitalist Bruce Sherman) for the price of $1.2 billion. A "New York City-based MLB source" added that the paperwork is expected to be sent to MLB later in the day on Friday.
Sherman is said to be the "control person," meaning he'll basically be a managing partner, while Jeter will helm the business and baseball sides of the franchise.
While Jeter is the headliner, he is reportedly only contributing $25 million of Loria's asking price, but apparently has a good enough relationship with Sherman to be granted his new position (it's about who you know, people).
The sale still needs to be voted on by current owners before it can be official. It is expected to be talked about by them, but not voted on, at the owners meetings next week in Chicago. That vote may not go down for several weeks, with the Herald reporting that closing is expected during the first week of October.
