[新聞] Rodriguez Is Bargain for Yankees at $23 Million, Economist Says
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Rodriguez Is Bargain for Yankees at $23 Million, Economist Says
By Danielle Sessa
May 2 (Bloomberg) -- The New York Yankees' Alex Rodriguez, whose $252 million
contract is the biggest in baseball history, generates more than twice his
$23 million annual salary for the team, according to an economist who has
advised franchises on players' value.
The Yankees earn almost $47 million a year in revenue based on the games
Rodriguez wins for the club, said Stephen Walters, an economics professor at
Loyola College in Maryland. Rodriguez, a two-time American League Most
Valuable Player, is an even bigger bargain because New York is responsible
for only $16 million of his salary this season. His former team, the Texas
Rangers, is paying the rest as part of the trade that brought him to the
Yankees in 2004.
``Even as rich as his contract appears to be, he's probably a pretty good
investment for the Yankees,'' said Walters, whose clients have included the
Boston Red Sox.
While New York has sunk to last place in the American League East with a
10-14 record, Rodriguez is off to the best start in his 14-year career. The
31-year-old third baseman hit a record-tying 14 home runs in April.
Rodriguez has the option to cancel the final three years and $81 million of
his contract after the season to sign with the highest bidder.
Rodriguez's Wins
The Yankees win 10 more games a season with Rodriguez, based on Walters's
projections. Each victory results in $4.66 million in additional revenue,
including ticket and merchandise sales and higher prices for sponsorships and
commercials on the team's Yankees Entertainment & Sports Network.
Even after deducting the Yankees' payments into baseball's revenue-sharing
plan -- where money from wealthy clubs is given to lower-revenue teams to try
to keep them competitive -- Rodriguez still is producing about $31 million
this season.
Rodriguez's agent, Scott Boras, declined to discuss whether the money his
client brings the Yankees would become part of negotiations for a new
contract.
``The value of players is something that we keep internally and talk about
with the teams,'' said Boras, who is based in Newport Beach, California. ``We
really don't discuss that publicly.''
As part of the agreement Boras negotiated, Rodriguez has another $4 million
for this season deferred.
Rodriguez said as recently as April 24 that he has no plans to leave New
York.
Hot April
This season, he's batting .371 and has already won two games for the Yankees
in the club's last at-bat with a grand slam against Baltimore and a three-run
homer versus Cleveland.
``You are seeing the ability he's always had and the ability that everyone
has always looked for,'' said Hall-of-Fame outfielder Reggie Jackson, an
adviser to the Yankees. ``You are going to be able to sit back and enjoy and
watch him in awe.''
Yankees fans may want to do that now, because he'll cease being a bargain for
the team if he seeks a new contract, said Walters, who has an office at
Loyola's Baltimore campus. The Rangers wouldn't be obligated to pay his
future salary, wiping out the Yankees' profit.
New York, whose $190 million payroll is the highest in Major League Baseball,
also has to analyze how Rodriguez's salary affects the amount the team pays
in luxury tax, which is charged to the sport's highest-spending clubs. The
Yankees would have to pay a 40 percent penalty in 2008 on the amount their
payroll exceeds $155 million.
``They are going to have to make a really tough call,'' Walters said.
Mets
Rodriguez is scheduled to make $27 million for each of the next three seasons
and might have a difficult time getting more, Walters said. After revenue
sharing, only the New York Mets would profit by signing him at his current
salary. The club would generate $31 million with Rodriguez continuing to play
in the nation's biggest media market.
With the Mets' All-Star third baseman David Wright and shortstop Jose Reyes
signed through at least 2010, Rodriguez is an unlikely addition.
Rodriguez would have a hard time finding a bigger contract, said former Red
Sox General Manager Dan Duquette.
``He's already playing in the largest market,'' said Duquette, who was one of
Walters's clients. ``Where else can he go where his services will be more
valuable?''
Owners of teams desperate to win, like the Yankees' George Steinbrenner,
might pay more for Rodriguez, even if it means losing on the investment,
Walters said.
``It's not about rationality,'' he said. ``What is his objective? Does he
want to win money or want to win rings?''
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