New York Yankees owner Hal Steinbrenner continues to give mixed signals about the direction of the once-proud organization.
With the Bronx Bombers off to a solid 35-17 start heading into Friday’s MLB games, one might think that drama would be muted a bit.
That’s not the case. Fresh off saying earlier in the spring that the Yankees will soon begin contract extension negotiations with Juan Soto, Steinbrenner just recently repeated an all-too common talking point. Budget cuts could soon be coming. The current payroll is not sustainable.
“I’m gonna be honest, payrolls at the levels we’re at right now are simply not sustainable for us financially,’’ Steinbrenner said this week. “It wouldn’t be sustainable for the vast majority of ownership [groups], given the luxury tax we have to pay.’’
This certainly is not sitting well with Yankees fans in the Big Apple. Payroll has rarely been an issue for the Yankees dating back to George Steinbrenner’s free-spending ways and run of five World Series titles from 1996-2009. Since his son took over, it has been a major topic of discussion.
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MLB insider Ken Rosenthal blasts New York Yankees owner over payroll comments
Rosenthal just recently appeared on Foul Territory and questioned Steinbrenner’s stance about the Yankees’ payroll. The Athletic and MLB on Fox insider did not hold back. He wants to see the receipts.
“Open your books, prove you can’t sustain it, because I don’t believe that for a second,” Rosenthal said.
Well, let’s look into it for a second.
According to Spotrac, New York has the second-highest payroll in baseball at $305.35 million. That’s up from $278.65 million in 2023 and $252.96 million in 2022.
Forbes notes that the Yankees brought in $679 million in revenue a season ago. That included a whopping $284 million in gate receipts. New York’s total revenue was $130 million than any other MLB franchise. Did we mention the Yankees are also valued at a whopping $7.55 billion?
There are other factors to look at here, but those are the cold-hard numbers that Rosenthal speaks about.
Sure, the Yankees have to concern themselves with re-signing Soto after the 2024 season. They also have to fix a questionable pitching staff.
But to say that the payroll situation around MLB is not “sustainable” just doesn’t fit in with the facts. Hence, why Steinbrenner is getting dragged.