ORLANDO, Fla. — Amid a potential sale of the Tampa Bay Rays to a group led by Jacksonville home builder Patrick Zalupski, Morgan & Morgan law firm founder John Morgan is leaving the Orlando Dreamers, a group that has been advocating for a Major League Baseball team in Orange County.

What You Need To Know

John Morgan has broken away with Orlando Dreamers amid Tampa Bay Rays sale talks

He believes the Orlando will be used as leverage for a favorable stadium deal for a new Rays owner in Tampa

Morgan was a lead investor in the group, alongside Heartland Dental founder Rick Workman

Morgan released a statement on Tuesday, saying Orlando will simply be used as a “bargaining chip” for a new Rays owner to secure a stadium deal in Tampa.

“I am out. The fix is in,” Morgan said in the statement. “I believe what will happen now is this group will seek a sweetheart deal in Tampa, while stringing the prospects of Orlando as a bargaining chip. They will get lots of free land and entitlements and make a real estate profit on the surrounding land at the tax payers’ expense. Certainly not for the people, but for the rich people.”

Morgan was a lead investor in the group, alongside Heartland Dental founder Rick Workman, who credited Morgan and him earlier this year as “committed to delivering transformative benefits to Orange County and Central Florida with this initiative.”

In June, Barry Larkin, the MLB ambassador for the Dreamers, said the group had been undeterred by revelations the Rays were in talks with investors, saying at the time, “This does not complicate our mission, nor does it change our plans for aggressively moving forward to the next phase of our initiative.”

Aside from various commitments from investors and a few public appearances, the group had yet to make progress with political leaders in Orange County to secure Tourism Development Tax dollars for a proposed stadium next to Aquatica and near the Orange County Convention Center.

In June, Orange County Mayor Jerry Demings said he still had to learn more about the proposal and that the Board of County Commission “has not really had a broad conversation about it because it’s premature at this time.”