Jerry can definitely afford an ownership stake in the Mets -- dude's loaded. Forbes says he made $41 mil in 2019 alone ... not including the fortune he raked in from "Seinfeld."

There's been a lot of drama surrounding Mets team ownership lately -- with the Wilpon family looking to sell. They had a deal in place with minority owner Steve Cohen (he currently owns 8% of the team) who was looking to buy an 80% stake. The deal would have made the Mets valuation around $2.6 BILLION -- but the deal fell through.

Now, more potential buyers are popping up ... there are even reports Alex Rodriguez is interested. A-Rod has said he was a big Mets fan as a kid and he's reportedly considering putting an investment group together to try and make the purchase.

So, when we saw Seinfeld out in NYC we asked if A-Rod would be a great owner -- or if Jerry himself would be interested in buying a piece of the team -- and that's when Jerry broke it down for us right there on the street.

"No! The highest level of sports appreciation, particularly baseball, is a hotdog, a beer and a seat," Jerry said.

"There's nothing higher. That's the pinnacle ... People think that owning the team is more fun, it's actually LESS fun."

He's got a point ... but unfortunately, the fans are gonna have to wait for that meal -- with MLB suspending all action over the coronavirus scare.