NEW YORK • Celebrity power couple Alex Rodriguez and Jennifer Lopez have turned to some heavy hitters associated with other sports to bolster their bid to purchase Major League Baseball outfit the New York Mets.

According to ESPN, National Football League (NFL) Hall of Fame linebacker Brian Urlacher, Super Bowl champion Travis Kelce of the Kansas City Chiefs, former NFL running back DeMarco Murray and former NFL lineman Joe Thomas have joined their consortium.

The quartet will link up with two-time All-Star Bradley Beal of the Washington Wizards and Denver Nuggets centre Mason Plumlee, with both National Basketball Association players previously coming on board as investors backing Rodriguez and Lopez's bid.

Urlacher told ESPN the couple's star power lent credence to the possible takeover for an initial US$1.7 billion (S$2.37 billion), with US$300 million coming from their own pockets.

Lopez is one of the biggest celebrities in the world, with the 50-year-old singer and movie star's fortune estimated at US$400 million.

Three-time Most Valuable Player Rodriguez (A-Rod) is best known for his nine-year spell with the New York Yankees, winning the World Series in 2009, and the 44-year-old has a net worth of around US$350 million.

"Being a former athlete and having a chance to be a part of a group trying to purchase a professional team, it's pretty cool," Chicago Bears great Urlacher said on Monday. "It's especially cool to be involved with Alex. Alex is the man. You've got Kelce, Joe, DeMarco Murray. It's great to be in a group with them."

On their new partners, Rodriguez and fiancee Lopez told CBS Sports: "We couldn't be more excited to have such high-quality individuals as part of our group."

While their bid trails the US$2 billion offer made by hedge fund billionaire Steve Cohen, the New York Post has reported that the Wilpon family, who own the Mets, prefer to sell to the Rodriguez-Lopez group if its offer is close to the best bid at the end of the auction.

The Post added that Lopez and Rodriguez want to turn Citi Field, the Mets' ball park, into an entertainment venue and redevelop the surrounding Willets Point neighbourhood, which is largely industrial.

They also want to install a box area for high-profile fans like comedians Jerry Seinfeld and Chris Rock and actor Matthew Broderick, copying the New York Knicks' "celebrity row".

In April, Forbes placed the Mets' value at US$2.4 billion, a 4 per cent rise from last year, with the team considered to be the sixth most valuable team in the league. Their cross-town rivals, the Yankees, head the list on US$5 billion.

REUTERS