Court orders Tigers' Miguel Cabrera to pay $20,000 in monthly support

A lengthy legal and financial spat between Tigers superstar Miguel Cabrera and his former Florida mistress has been resolved, with Cabrera ordered to pay $20,000 per month in child and family support, plus significant extras.

According to Orange County Circuit Court records, Cabrera must also pay off by July a $1 million home the woman, Belkan Rodriguez, was provided by Cabrera for her and for the two children — a son 6, a daughter 3 — he fathered by her.

Records indicate that Cabrera must also pay for private-school tuition, day care, vacations, and assorted activities. Rodriguez’s attorney fees accrued during a nearly 18-month-old court duel must also be paid by Cabrera.

Rodriguez lives in Orlando, and in August 2017 sued Cabrera seeking $100,000 per month for her and the two children. Her suit followed a lengthy affair made public when Rodriguez turned to the courts, arguing the $15,000 Cabrera for a time paid voluntarily in support was inadequate. He had ceased the payments, as well as additional stipends, as their relationship and squabbles over support turned hostile.

Cabrera had also financed in part a posh Eagle Creek home for the three and had purchased a floral business for Rodriguez.

Attorneys for both sides did not respond Tuesday to Detroit News requests for comment. Benjamin Hodas, of West Palm Beach, has represented Cabrera during the squabble, while Rodriguez’s counsel is Orlando attorney Terry Young.

Cabrera is one of the world’s richest professional athletes. He has in his 16-year, big-league career made $246 million and is owed minimally another $154 million for the duration of his Tigers contract, which runs at least through 2023. He turns 36 in April.

The final judgment followed a trial that capped a series of attempts, at times amicable and other times contentious, between the two sides. Ironically, the $20,000 in monthly support ordered by the trial judge is equivalent to the amount Cabrera initially was paying Rodriguez before the affair was discovered by Cabrera’s wife, Rosangel.

Rosangel Cabrera filed for divorce in 2017, but later ceased dissolution of their marriage. The couple has three children.

It was at the point Rosangel Cabrera learned of the affair in 2017,  both sides acknowledge, that Cabrera reduced monthly payments to Rodriguez from $20,000 to $15,000 — which did not include extra compensation for random expenses. Tensions later boiled and he ceased formal payments. That prompted Rodriguez in August 2017, to make her case public.

Cabrera had until then also paid for the children’s entertainment, and for birthday and Christmas gifts and parties, as well as vacations. He also spent $3,000 per month on visits with the children and their travel.

The $20,000 Cabrera now will pay will be augmented by separate educational and medical expenses, as well as by perks. Those extras include annual passes to Sea World, Disney World, and Universal Studios.

The legal duel turned explosive in 2017 when Cabrera’s side labeled Rodriguez a “gold-digger” while Rodriguez’s representatives painted Cabrera as a scorned man intent on skipping his responsibilities following a long and clandestine affair.

Rodriguez’s attorneys had been pushing for strict adherence to Florida law governing support. The state says parents making $10,000 or more per year must pay 7.5 percent of their annual income in child support. If rigidly applied, that formula could have cost Cabrera more than $2 million annually.

But the court decided on a lesser figure, albeit greater than Cabrera and his side insisted Rodriguez should ultimately receive.

lynn.henning@detroitnews.com

Twitter: @Lynn_Henning