The former Yankees captain and future Hall of Famer will oversee both baseball and business operations, sources said. He also will have a large voting stake in team affairs, roughly 20 percent. Billionaire money manager Bruce Sherman will be a majority share owner.
Derek Sanderson Jeter is an American former professional baseball shortstop and the incoming CEO and part owner of the Miami Marlins. Jeter played played 20 seasons in Major League Baseball(MLB) for the New York Yankees. A five-time World Series champion, Jeter is regarded as a central figure of the Yankees’ success of the late 1990s and early 2000s for his hitting, base running, fielding, and leadership. He is the Yankees’ all-time career leader in hits (3,465), doubles (544), games played (2,747), stolen bases (358), times on base(4,716), plate appearances (12,602) and at bats (11,195).[1] His accolades include 14 All-Star selections, five Gold Glove Awards, five Silver Slugger Awards, two Hank Aaron Awards, and a Roberto Clemente Award. Jeter was the 28th player to reach 3,000 hits and finished his career ranked sixth in MLB history in career hits and first among shortstops. In 2017, the Yankees retired his uniform number 2.
“It’s a deal,” the source said. “The ink is dry.”
As principal owner, Sherman is investing several hundred million in the acquisition, with Michael Jordan, Derek Jeter, and other partners investing a substantial amount as well, to exceed a total of several hundred million dollars in their total investment.
Sherman, who lives in Naples, Fla., did not know Jeter until he found out the retired Yankee was bidding for the Marlins and inquired months ago about joining his group, sources said.
In the past, Sherman had unsuccessfully bid for a minor league baseball team.
In the following months, Sherman outlasted other billionaire Jeter backers such as Richard Chaifetz and Quogue Capital Founder Wayne Rothbaum, who eventually left Jeter and formed his own rival Marlins bidding group with Tagg Romney, the source said. Sherman then became the lead of Jeter’s bidding group.
Jordan is also known for his product endorsements. He fueled the success of Nike’s Air Jordan sneakers, which were introduced in 1985 and remain popular today. Jordan also starred in the 1996 feature film Space Jam as himself. In 2006, he became part-owner and head of basketball operations for the then-Charlotte Bobcats, buying a controlling interest in 2010. In 2015, Jordan became the first billionaire NBA player in history as a result of the increase in value of NBA franchises. He is the third-richest African-American, behind Oprah Winfrey and Robert F. Smith.
The 69-year-old Sherman plans to maintain his Marlins ownership for years to come, then eventually turn the team over to his children, sources said.
He made much of his fortune when Legg Mason bought his Private Capital Management money management firm, based in Naples, Fla., for $1.4 billion in 2001.
Sherman became best known for being a big investor in newspapers.
When Sherman was riding high, he said he liked investing in cash-rich companies because they could buy back shares or make investments to improve their share prices, according to the 1999 book “Investment Gurus: A Road Map to Wealth from the World’s Best Money Managers.”
The Marlins do not fit the typical Sherman criteria, as they are expected to lose $70 million this year.
Sherman did not grow up wealthy, being raised in middle-class Douglaston, Queens.
