I don't think this is true at all. If anything, JR would have to be involved if the Sox were to sign one of them because he's the guy writing the checks.
Machado to the Sox and Harper to the Phillies seems like the most logical conclusion, but of course that won't happen as these things never go according to plan.
Jerry Reinsdorf is probably not going to be alive in 10 years. I would have to assume that his children, grandchildren, great grandchildren, and several generations beyond that are all taken care of financially. Go out with a bang and sign Machado.
If they don't land him, good luck getting more than 10,000 people to show up per game next year. It would make the fans even more pissed off than they already are, and deservedly so. They can't fuck this up.
I love the idea of adding performance based incentives like SonofaRoache said. It gives him a lot more motivation to not "mail it in" after securing a long term deal