On this date 46 years ago, Willie Mays signed a new contract for $100,000, becoming the highest paid player in baseball.
In the day and age that we live in today, with baseball salaries being through the roof, we have to reflect on where we have come from. In 1963 when Mays received that contract from the San Francisco Giants, $100,000 was like $1,000,000 today.
Have the salaries gotten too high? Are these players over paid?
Major League Baseball has seen salaries rise astronomically since the mid 90’s. Kevin Brown signed the biggest contract in MLB history in 1998, when the Los Angeles Dodgers gave him a modest seven year deal worth $105 million. Since then $100+ million contracts have been quite common.
Most notably Alex Rodriguez received a $252 million deal from the Texas Rangers in 2001, he then received a new deal with the New York Yankees in 2008 where he was awarded a 10 year $275 million contract which with incentives could go up to $305 million.
New York Yankees short stop, Derek Jeter was given a 10 year $189 million contract in 2001. In 2006 Barry Zito was given the largest contract for a pitcher by the San Francisco Giants. A whopping seven year $126 million deal, which thus far has been the largest over-payment for a player since the Dodgers gave relief pitcher Darren Dreifort a five year $55 million contract in 2001. In the same year the Colorado Rockies gave Mike Hampton a stellar eight year $121 million contract, which the Rockies paid the Braves to take him off their hands after just two years.
2007-2008 winter meetings brought the next enormous deal for a pitcher in baseball, when the New York Mets inked up a $137.5 million contract for six years.
Then in the 2008-2009 offseason the New York Yankees struck it rich when they gave C.C Sabathia the newest largest contract for a pitcher in baseball history. $161 million deal over seven years, and then proceeded to give first baseman Mark Teixeira a hefty eight year $180 million contract.
But now comes the economic stand point from the whole situation and big question is thrown out there, are these players over paid. Well it all depends on what that player will end up making for the team he plays for. If Alex Rodriguez makes the Yankees $30 million in a season, he technically is under paid because he makes $28 million a season. That is how baseball contracts are measured, merchandise sales, luxury box and season ticket sales and other endorsements all play into the idea of the cost for a player. As long as you see thousands of number 13 jerseys at Yankee Stadium and all across the world at a cool $154.99 a piece, the Yankees and other teams with their player contracts will be doing just fine.
It just goes to show you where these contracts have gone. Just think, four decades ago a games pay for Alex Rodriguez was the largest contract in the game, now there are players in baseball making more money then some countries.
1 comment:
This is the problem with everything in baseball. The teams only care about $$, and they don't give a shit about the fans. Thats why Yankee tickets for the new stadium are hundreds of dollars a pop, in a freaking recession. Now the best players of our time, our hall of famers (Bonds, Clemens, A-Rod) all did drugs to make more $$. Clemens was making over $20 mil a year when he was 42 years old, just because of the juice. The whole game is dominated by the dollar, and it's the fan that suffers.
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