Wilpon basically broke

From the NY Post:

There's no way Fred Wilpon can keep his grip on the team with a billion-dollar lawsuit hanging over his head.

Sources with direct knowledge of the 74-year-old Wilpon's finances said that even if an angel investor took the embattled owner up on his offer to buy 25 percent of the team for $200 million, it wouldn't put a dent in his potential Madoff liabilities.

The actual Met team -- including ticket sales, broadcast rights and branding rights -- is worth $860 million. But the team owes a staggering $430 million in debt. Last year, the Mets lost another $30 million, mainly from interest payments on that massive debt.

Citi Field, managed by Wilpon's Sterling Equities, is another financial drain.

Wilpon owes $700 million for construction. And under a deal structured with the city, the stadium -- controlled by a Sterling entity called Queens Ballpark Corp -- must pay $50 million in annual "payments in lieu of taxes."

The debt interest and stadium payments leave Sterling about $80 million in the red each year, sources with direct knowledge of the Mets' financials said.

Likewise, Sterling Equities' 65 percent stake in SportsNet NY is choked with debt.

The network gener- ates about $100 million a year in profit after paying $20 million in interest on $450 million in loans.

Of that profit, Wilpon only keeps $65 million because he has other partners.

So add all this debt -- around $1.58 billion -- to the near $1 billion he could owe Madoff investors, and there's no way he can keep the team.