Report: Jeb Bush won't be buying the Miami Marlins with Derek Jeter after all
Sad! According to the Associated Press, former Florida governor and 2016 Republican presidential candidate Jeb Bush has dropped out of the running to buy the Miami Marlins. Bush was part of a potential ownership group that included former Yankees shortstop Derek Jeter and was reportedly the frontrunner to purchase the franchise from current owner Jeffrey Loria back in April. But according to the Miami Herald's Barry Jackson, Bush had less than $20 million of his own money put up in the deal — one that was rumored to be well over $1 billion — and apparently backed out because of issues with regards to how much control and stake he would have in any new ownership. Insert your "low energy Jeb" jokes here.
Bush's exit doesn't mean that Jeter will no longer be pursuing the team, however. According to Jackson, the Jeter group will continue its bid, with the future Hall of Famer acting as the control person. Because Bush had so little invested in the potential purchase, Jackson writes, "[the] Jeter group loses nothing meaningful without him."
News of a potential Marlins sale first surfaced back in February, when Forbes reported that Loria had a "handshake agreement" with a New York-based real estate developer to buy the team for $1.6 billion. That developer was later revealed to be Joshua Kushner, son of real estate magnate and convicted felon Charles and younger brother of Jared, son-in-law of and senior adviser to President Donald Trump (and himself now being investigated by the FBI over the administration's ongoing Russia scandal). Those rumors came to nothing, however, with the Herald reporting in March that Loria had no deal on the table but was ready to sell the team within the year.
Aside from the now-Jeter-led group, the other main player trying to buy the Marlins is a consortium led by Hall of Famer Tom Glavine and Tagg Romney, the son of former Massachusetts governor and 2012 Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney. Something about owning a Florida team really brings out the conservative scions, apparently. Jackson names the Jeter group and the Glavine/Romney group as the frontrunners to purchase the Marlins, should a sale come to fruition.
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