The owners of the New York Mets have decided to avoid going to trial and have settled with the Bernard Madoff trustee by agreeing to pay $162 million. Earlier this month, federal judge Jed Rakoff said that the Mets' owners would have to pay at least $83 million. For what it's worth, the Mets' payroll for the 2012 season is $91 million. Which means their payroll has been cut by three-and-a- half Oliver Perez's since 2009 (Perez was paid $12 million/season in 2009!).
The AP reports that earlier, Rakoff "was skeptical that lawyers could succeed in convincing the nine-person civil jury that the Mets owners believed that Madoff's business was a fraud but continued their investments anyway because they were making a lot of money." Based on court documents submitted by Madoff trustee Picard, the Mets' owners seemed hooked on the incredible returns that Madoff was giving them. According to the NY Times, "The $162 million is to be paid out of money Wilpon and Katz expect to recover as a "net loser" of the Madoff scheme. Recovery chances are good, said David J. Sheehan, counsel to Picard. As part of the settlement, the trustee dropped the willful blindness claim against Wilpon and Katz."
While $162 million is certainly a lot of money, Picard had initially sought $1 billion. In the effort to stem the losses due to the impending settlement and lack of cash from Madoff, the Mets have been paring down their payroll, auctioning pieces of their field and selling shares to investors.
It seems like the Wilpons and Saul Katz will be able to keep the team; apparently a settlement of $200 million or more would have been difficult for them.
