Giving ‘Em The Money

Now that we are just a week from December and have seen some big signings such as A-Rod with his contract that can exceed $300 million in his 10 year deal, Torii Hunter who will make $90 million over five years, you even have back up players earning over a million dollars a season.

I don’t want to say that it is not that they don’t deserve it, but it when it becomes ridiculous such as with A-Rod. If he wanted to stay in New York then why not take the $29 dollar offer or whatever it was and take it – did he really need to test the free agent waters and see if he could be the first player to earn $30 million a season?

I don’t want to single out A-Rod; it is just that he signed the most lucrative deal in the history of baseball. But look at Johan Santana. He turned down offers from Minnesota that would pay him in the range of $18 or $20million dollars but he wants $25 dollars a season for more seasons than what was offered.

If you want to play with a certain team, why not just sign there? What is a few million extra dollars a season?

These players have enough money to support themselves for the rest of their lives, their children’s lives, their grandchildren’s lives, their great grandchildren’s lives and probably farther than that.

No one under any superstars name will probably have to work a day in their lives for at least three or four more generations.

So why is say in Santana’s contract does he need an extra five million dollars or whatever he wants? What for? Their taxes alone in one year probably supercede what an average person earns in their lifetime.

Some own many expensive cars, several multi-million dollar homes, and yet it negotiations a few million dollars a season can persuade a player to jump ship to another team. It is absolutely ridiculous.

I understand that us, the fans, pay cable to see the baseball games, go to the stadiums to watch them, they are the ones performing and so they get paid very - very well.

However, just for a second, take a teachers job. They make nothing; $30 – $50 thousand a year maybe. A teacher’s job is much more important than that of a ballplayer but no one is going to pay $25 to watch them teach so they don’t get paid. It seems like the less work you have to do the more money you make.

Even take someone who works in a little store who works for minimum wage. They do all the heavy work and who makes the money? The owner of the store wreaks all the benefits.

So, back to my question…Why do players let a few million dollars that mean absolutely nothing to them change what team they go to, why does it make them hold out for a bigger contract, why does it matter?

There is no right or wrong answer here. I assume it has something to do with pride. It is as if they say to themselves, “If the pitcher on the Giants is making $19 million and I am better than him I should get $25 million.” Maybe they want extra recognition for their achievements, and just don’t want to feel like the owners can walk all over them. Maybe it is the brainwashing of agents, and then it comes down to one last thing; Greed.

Is it just plain greed that makes a player do this? The problem with this is that if they play well, the money will come – you don’t need to be making record setting contracts. You don’t need to make $10, $15, $20, $25 million dollars a year.

What can they possibly do with all that money? If you make even make $100 thousand a year, you will be more than comfortable. You can afford a nice home, some nice cars, you name it. You probably don’t even need to make that much to live like you own the world – OK, maybe you won’t own a million dollar home after a year or so of work, but that is not a bad thing - you don't need to live like a king with toilet seats made out gold. You don't need 10 Jaguars sitting in your own personal storage lot or somewhere inside your home. It is just flat out unnecessary.

It wasn't long ago that Kevin Brown was the first pitcher to ever receive a contract worth $100 million and it was like a shock to the baseball world - now it has become common place for a player to make a salary like that and beyond.

Who would have ever thought A-Rod would have received a $25 million a year contract from the Rangers and now a contract with the Yankees closer to $30 million a season. Santana will surely get his $20-$25 million dollars a season and little by little more and more players will command and receive this kind of money.

Contracts are just getting so ridiculous that it may not be too long into the future before we start to see $40 and $50 million a year contracts being signed.