# Is A-Rod worth $30 Million a Season?



## Earl Bonovich (Nov 15, 2005)

I heard this on Mike and Mike this morning, that the talk is that A-Rod may become a $30 Million a Season player....

When he got his first contract... our jaws dropped...
What about this one?

You could also throw Suzuki into that argument...
Is he worth $20 Million a Season?

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It is astronomical to think, that these players... who pretty much don't have to spend a dime on anything related to their profession (equipment, training, travel, clothing, ect).... are going to make that kind of money.

If A-Rod does get that $30 million a season.... do you realize he will make more oney playing just 1 game.... then probably ANY of us make in an entire year ($185,185)... certainly with in the first week, he will eclipse 99.9% of readership here...

I know Profession Sports, is a difficult thing to do... only for the most talented and hardest working players.... and they do put in an 8 hour day (some times more), and isn't the greatest lifestyle to raise a family (which a lot of us put more importance on then $$$)....

But wholy molley..... that is an amazing amount of money.


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## cavihitts (Mar 11, 2007)

Not discrediting the work involved with being a professional athlete, but I wish I could get paid that much for playing a game. I know its not all fun though.


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## DCSholtis (Aug 7, 2002)

Earl Bonovich said:


> I heard this on Mike and Mike this morning, that the talk is that A-Rod may become a $30 Million a Season player....
> 
> When he got his first contract... our jaws dropped...
> What about this one?
> ...


Its not MAY, Earl but WILL, even if he doesn't exercise his opt-out clause various incentives built in easily puts his contract over $30M per for the rest of the deal.


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## Michael D'Angelo (Oct 21, 2006)

ESPNEWS said the reason they are offering that much is if he does not opt-out of the contract Texas will have to still pay the Yankees the 30+ million from the trade. If he does opt-out Texas will not have to pay the Yankees that money. So if he does opt-out and then the resign him it will not be for the much.


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## Stewart Vernon (Jan 7, 2005)

There are two sides to this...

I don't believe any athlete is worth $30 million a year... not even Jordan in his prime. That said, however, if the organization takes in enough money that they can pay their stars... I believe the stars should get a lion's share of the revenue since they are who we fans pay to see after all.

Also... I heard yesterday that Ichiro signed for $20 million per year for the next 5 years... so if he is worth that much, A-Rod and other folks "worth" has to have taken a big leap upwards too... a new bar has been set.


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## DCSholtis (Aug 7, 2002)

Actually Ichiro's new deal is a shade under $20m per. Its 5 years, $90m.


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## bigbenny13 (Jul 22, 2007)

The question is what is value. Obviosly if the market will bare it then he is worth it, or is he worth it in comparison to the stats of other players. In either question the answer is unfortunately yes. He is still young in baseball terms and could be on his way to 800 homeruns and 3000 hits, etc... What would you pay for a 30 year old Willy Mays, or Mickey Mantle? I assure you he will fill Yankee stadium for another 9 or 10 years(or their new staidum.) Trust me I hate those damn Yankees but they can actually afford it, easily. Their TV rights and merchandising alone is worth billions per year. Take it from a very jealous hater A-Rod might wind up being the greatest hitter ever and his in his prime, totally worth it to a team like the Yankees. The only other teams that could do it would be the Mets, Red Sox, and maybe Dodgers. Unless revenue sharing and a salary cap come(fat chance on either by the way) contracts like this will continue and small market teams will continue to struggle.


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## bobsloop (Nov 22, 2006)

If someone will pay him that then he is worth it. He is nowhere near Oprah money.


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## n3ntj (Dec 18, 2006)

I am a big Yankees fan (since mid 70s), but no one is worth $30 million a season to play sports.


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## DBS Commando (Apr 7, 2006)

I've always thought that professional players should be paid based on performance. They could get a guarenteed amount such as $300k-$500k. Any homer, RBI, stolen base, run scored etc. after that will be an added bonus to their paychecks. For pitchers; strikeouts, ERA, etc. A player's average could also add some sort of bonus.

Of course something like this has never happened and is probably never going to.


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## DonCorleone (Jan 29, 2006)

As you all said: if the market will bear it, which is obviously the case. FWIW, I don't think he's going anywhere. Steinbrenner won't let that bat go.

As for the specific dollars, he's still making less than most movie stars (a Tom Cruise/Hanks makes $20million/picture and sometimes do several a year). A sports player's work is much harder than an actor's in my opinion, so if anyone's getting paid too much it's Hollywood, not the South Bronx.


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## davring (Jan 13, 2007)

If I work 144 more years I could catch up to him.


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## n3ntj (Dec 18, 2006)

DonCorleone said:


> As you all said: if the market will bear it, which is obviously the case. FWIW, I don't think he's going anywhere. Steinbrenner won't let that bat go.
> 
> As for the specific dollars, he's still making less than most movie stars (a Tom Cruise/Hanks makes $20million/picture and sometimes do several a year). A sports player's work is much harder than an actor's in my opinion, so if anyone's getting paid too much it's Hollywood, not the South Bronx.


I also agree about the Hollywood v. Sports thing.

The athlete performance pay is an interesting idea, though.


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## Rich (Feb 22, 2007)

Earl Bonovich said:


> I heard this on Mike and Mike this morning, that the talk is that A-Rod may become a $30 Million a Season player....
> 
> When he got his first contract... our jaws dropped...
> What about this one?
> ...


Fortune magazine is running a story about the possible sale of the YES network. For 3 BILLION dollars. The Yankees team value is well over a billion dollars. The team has been drawing 4 million spectators over the course of the 81 game home season.

Compare those figures to A-Rod's salary. And he is one of the main reasons for all those fannies in the seats and the media coverage the team gets. Is he worth the money? Not my money. Don't care what he makes as long as I see him at third every game.

Is he the best "ball player" on the team? No. He has a hard time catching pop-ups. I think Jeter is the best all around player on the team. A-Rod is certainly the best offensive player on the team, but jeez, has a hard time with pop-ups? And if you watch every inning of every game as I try to do, you will see that difficulty manifest itself over and over. He gives way to Jeter every chance he gets on a fair short pop.

What an arm he has! Except for the pop-ups, he plays a great third base. How would we replace him? Chavez? And what would that cost? And he is not A-Rod by any stretch of the imagination.

In short, Earl, A-Rod is worth every cent his agent can get for him. We will never see a Mickey Mantle or a Willie Mays again. Or a Ruth of Gehrig. Or a Williams. But in twenty years, I'll bet A-Rod will be considered part of that group.


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## Rich (Feb 22, 2007)

n3ntj said:


> I am a big Yankees fan (since mid 70s), but no one is worth $30 million a season to play sports.


I don't believe you could justify that statement in a court of law. It is your right to express an opinion, but I have been a Yankees fan since 1951, and the only offensive player I have seen that I thought was more feared at the plate was the Mick. And I watched DiMaggio for three years.

If Mickey would have just taken better care of himself, Barroid would be chasing him rather than Aaron (I have nothing against Aaron, just rate the Mick a much better player). Or if Ted Williams hadn't spent so much time defending his country, Barroid would be trying to overtake the Mick and then surpass the "Splendid Splinter" who clearly would hold most offensive records if not for his most honorable service to this country of ours.

Would you pay a young Ted Williams 30 million a year today if you were an owner? You bet you would. And Willie and the Mick, too. And A-Rod.


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## Dr_J (Apr 15, 2007)

rich584 said:


> Or if Ted Williams hadn't spent so much time defending his country, Barroid would be trying to overtake the Mick and then surpass the "Splendid Splinter" who clearly would hold most offensive records if not for his most honorable service to this country of ours.


Amen.


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## Dolly (Jan 30, 2007)

A-Rod is worth every penny he can get :sunsmile: And you might know he hit his 500th HR in a game that I couldn't not watch anywhere  
And if the Yankees are stupid enough to let him go, their front office is dumber than I thought. And believe me I think their front office is dumb
:icon_lame


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## Stewart Vernon (Jan 7, 2005)

DBS Commando said:


> I've always thought that professional players should be paid based on performance. They could get a guarenteed amount such as $300k-$500k. Any homer, RBI, stolen base, run scored etc. after that will be an added bonus to their paychecks. For pitchers; strikeouts, ERA, etc. A player's average could also add some sort of bonus.
> 
> Of course something like this has never happened and is probably never going to.


There are lots of athletes who have performance incentives built-in to their contracts. Attaining certain goals, or playing in a certain percentage of games, and so forth can earn them more money.

The problem here... is that the players don't control their playing time... and there has been speculation at times that when a team knows a player is close to attaining an incentive goal, they may sit him down to cool off.

It also can effect players in a game, using football as an example... in a blowout game early, the starters are often pulled early in the second half. So if you were on a roll early, you might sit half a game and not get closer to an incentive... whereas if you "tank" a little and let the other team come back or stay close, then you can play longer.

I'm all for incentives... it's just that there is a lot of room in sports to fudge (either by the player wanting to keep playing or by the management wanting not to pay) the performance when there is an incentive at stake.

No team will sacrifice a game or a season just to not pay an incentive clause... but if you are winning your division, and you don't need the win... players sit sometimes and don't play, for various reasons.


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## DawgLink (Nov 5, 2006)

Someone will pay him.

If he can not choke in the playoffs, he is worth it.


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## Rich (Feb 22, 2007)

DawgLink said:


> Someone will pay him.
> 
> If he can not choke in the playoffs, he is worth it.


Worth every penny, and I hope he resigns with the Yanks. That will insure his place in history. To go into the Hall of Fame as a Yankee, WOW! Fortunately he can make so much more in endorsements in NY than anywhere else in the country.

If only he had the emotional stability of Jeter. Jeter just plain knows how good he is and seems supremely confident on the field and off. A-Rod has been better this year this year and seems more confident of his abilities, which are probably as close to limitless as you can get.


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## purtman (Sep 19, 2006)

DawgLink said:


> Someone will pay him.
> 
> If he can not choke in the playoffs, he is worth it.


The amazing thing about this so-called "choke" is that A-Rod is a career .280 hitter in the post-season. It is only the last few games of the 2004 ALCS and the last two falls that A-Rod has been in a slump. Then again, not many Yankees hit all that well the last two years.


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## DawgLink (Nov 5, 2006)

purtman said:


> The amazing thing about this so-called "choke" is that A-Rod is a career .280 hitter in the post-season. *It is only the last few games of the 2004 ALCS and the last two falls that A-Rod has been in a slump. * Then again, not many Yankees hit all that well the last two years.


That is a pretty big "only" for the Yankees in ARod's time there.

If ARod can't produce this year in the playoffs, his time with the Yanks will and should be considered a failure UNLESS the Yanks still win the World Series.


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## Rich (Feb 22, 2007)

DawgLink said:


> That is a pretty big "only" for the Yankees in ARod's time there.
> 
> If ARod can't produce this year in the playoffs, his time with the Yanks will and should be considered a failure UNLESS the Yanks still win the World Series.


Who would you replace him with? That's an awful lot of offense to just let walk away. If the Yanks had held on to Sheffield, they would be in first place right now. I don't see how they can just keep losing offense and replacing that offence with poorer numbers.


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## davidpo (Apr 6, 2006)

no one is worth that kind of money unless they can win the entire game by themselves.I've stopped watching all pro sports except football,and this year will prob be my last.


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## rogerpl (Aug 16, 2006)

A-rod is the BEST player in baseball and would be worth more if he played SS like he should be. Jeter better all around is an absurd statement for thinking person to make.


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## Rich (Feb 22, 2007)

davidpo said:


> no one is worth that kind of money unless they can win the entire game by themselves.I've stopped watching all pro sports except football,and this year will prob be my last.


Rather Draconian, no?


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## Rich (Feb 22, 2007)

rogerpl said:


> A-rod is the BEST player in baseball and would be worth more if he played SS like he should be. Jeter better all around is an absurd statement for thinking person to make.


Picture this, the game is in the last of the 9th, Vlad Guerrero (hope I spelled that right) is up with a man on third and one on second. The score is tied. Two outs. The out fielders are playing for a fly ball, relatively deep. The infield is back. Joba rears back and throws a 98 MPH fastball right over the plate. Vlad takes a mighty swing and hits a short pop to LC field. The shortstop goes back and back and makes a great over the shoulder catch. Game over. The Yankees win. Now who do you think Torre wants to see going back for that short pop up?

I've said this before, A-Rod, no matter how much offense he puts out and no matter how well he plays 3rd, he has a serious problem with pop ups. You can see his face when he goes for a pop up and he looks tentative and is deeply relieved when he catches them (been a long time since he missed one, seems like). Maybe there is hope. What I fear is A-Rod getting the yips like Sax and Knoblock had.

Absurd? Perhaps, but it is my opinion. And that opinion is based on watching the Yankees (and Giants and Dodgers before that heinous move) since 1948 and I have seen but two "Great" SSs. The Scooter and Jeter. The rest were "good" (Kubeck) or adequate (Bucky F. Dent) or horrible (Celerino Sanchez). Remember, Jeter has more hits today that Pete Rose had at the same age.

10 years ago, I was coaching a LL team, and a bunch of the kids asked me who I thought was the best ball player in the majors. I answered "Jeter" and waited. Waited while they thought that over and one finally asked why.

My reply in shortened form: Hardest position = SS, Best team = Yankees, ergo Jeter. What about A-Rod and Nomar? Remember Nomar?

That leaves A-Rod. Damn fine 3rd baseman. And who is at SS for the best team in BB?


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## purtman (Sep 19, 2006)

rich584 said:


> Picture this, the game is in the last of the 9th, Vlad Guerrero (hope I spelled that right) is up with a man on third and one on second. The score is tied. Two outs. The out fielders are playing for a fly ball, relatively deep. The infield is back. Joba rears back and throws a 98 MPH fastball right over the plate. Vlad takes a mighty swing and hits a short pop to LC field. The shortstop goes back and back and makes a great over the shoulder catch. Game over. The Yankees win. Now who do you think Torre wants to see going back for that short pop up?
> 
> I've said this before, A-Rod, no matter how much offense he puts out and no matter how well he plays 3rd, he has a serious problem with pop ups. You can see his face when he goes for a pop up and he looks tentative and is deeply relieved when he catches them (been a long time since he missed one, seems like). Maybe there is hope. What I fear is A-Rod getting the yips like Sax and Knoblock had.
> 
> ...


There's a big difference with seeing the ball or a popup off the bat when you playing 3B as opposed to playing SS. That's probably why A-Rod has had some issues with it. He's not having a much trouble as people would like to make it seem.


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## Rich (Feb 22, 2007)

purtman said:


> There's a big difference with seeing the ball or a popup off the bat when you playing 3B as opposed to playing SS. That's probably why A-Rod has had some issues with it. He's not having a much trouble as people would like to make it seem.


He had the same trouble playing SS. Did you see yesterday's game? After he screwed the pooch at third in (I think) the 6th inning, there was Jeter nestled under a pop behind him and nobody had any doubt about him catching it. Inning over, A-Rods blunders once again erased by the best ball player in the game.


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## davidpo (Apr 6, 2006)

rich584 said:


> Rather Draconian, no?


Yep thats me Mr. Draconian!!! :lol:


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## rogerpl (Aug 16, 2006)

rich584 said:


> Picture this, the game is in the last of the 9th, Vlad Guerrero (hope I spelled that right) is up with a man on third and one on second. The score is tied. Two outs. The out fielders are playing for a fly ball, relatively deep. The infield is back. Joba rears back and throws a 98 MPH fastball right over the plate. Vlad takes a mighty swing and hits a short pop to LC field. The shortstop goes back and back and makes a great over the shoulder catch. Game over. The Yankees win. Now who do you think Torre wants to see going back for that short pop up?
> 
> I've said this before, A-Rod, no matter how much offense he puts out and no matter how well he plays 3rd, he has a serious problem with pop ups. You can see his face when he goes for a pop up and he looks tentative and is deeply relieved when he catches them (been a long time since he missed one, seems like). Maybe there is hope. What I fear is A-Rod getting the yips like Sax and Knoblock had.
> 
> ...


I'm not a big stat geek or one of these modern stat geeks but Jeter is consistently rated as one of the weakest defensive SS in baseball mostly due to lack of range. No doubt Jeter is smart and a winner and don't forget Arod was willing to move to get out of Texas, it would have been batter if the "captain" had move the move for the betterment of his team. I don't have a big argument with you but Jeter is the not best all around player on his own team let alone all of baseball.


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