Record $325M MLB contract - Stanton

[Dru Edwards]

The Miami Marlins just signed Giancarlo Stanton to a 13 year, $325M contract. It's the largest contact ever for an American athlete and the longest in MLB history.

I don't know what the Marlins are thinking. Are they worried that they were going to lose Stanton to another team that was going to offer him more? Do they think he'll perform at such a high level during those last few years? They must be confident he'll recover 100% from getting hit in the face with a pitch in Sept.

Anyway, it's the Marlin's money and how they spend it is their prerogative. It's good for conversation though.

http://www.tsn.ca/marlins-stanton-si...ength-1.139096

[cotten]

It's the Marlin's money, yes, but money they will have to get from their fans in one form or another. I will not likely be contributing to this superb professional athlete's salary, though I don't mind if others choose to. Such contracts are one reason I prefer baseball and other sports at an amateur level.

cotten

[zabdart]

First of all, let's hope that Giancarlo Stanton keeps his head on his shoulders better than Alex Rodriguez did.
Secondly, the trouble with giving these long-term mega contracts to players is twofold: one is that the player in question becomes virtually untradeable for the length of the contract because he's owed all that money. The second is paying somebody all that money reduces the amount of money you are able to spend on the other players you need to build and improve the team. Will the Marlins advance beyond Stanton and assorted warm bodies? We'll have to see about that.

[strings4him]

This is why I personally won't spend my money to go to a professional game. I'd rather spend it on guitars

Originally Posted by strings4him

This is why I personally won't spend my money to go to a professional game. I'd rather spend it on guitars

Agree 1000% with this

[Warren Gilmour]

Come on guys, it's only $25mm per year...which is $154K per game and around $40K per at bat!

As a small market team, I don't see how they can compete having handcuffed themselves with such a ridiculous contract. Give it a couple years and he'll be with the Yankees....just like A-Rod when he left the Rangers.

[rhancox]

He also has a no-trade clause and he can opt out after 6 years.

Do the Marlins know something about how Stanton has recovered from that beaning? Otherwise, it's a huge risk.

[Dru Edwards]

Originally Posted by zabdart

First of all, let's hope that Giancarlo Stanton keeps his head on his shoulders better than Alex Rodriguez did.
Secondly, the trouble with giving these long-term mega contracts to players is twofold: one is that the player in question becomes virtually untradeable for the length of the contract because he's owed all that money. The second is paying somebody all that money reduces the amount of money you are able to spend on the other players you need to build and improve the team. Will the Marlins advance beyond Stanton and assorted warm bodies? We'll have to see about that.

Excellent points Zabdart. Factor in that the Marlin's 2014 team payroll was only $47.5M (2nd last in the league). That makes Stanton worth more than half the entire team.

Originally Posted by Warren Gilmour

Come on guys, it's only $25mm per year...which is $154K per game and around $40K per at bat!

As a small market team, I don't see how they can compete having handcuffed themselves with such a ridiculous contract. Give it a couple years and he'll be with the Yankees....just like A-Rod when he left the Rangers.

Well, when you put it that way $40K per bat isn't that much . Holy smokes, that's a lot.

[catdaddy]

When the hostages from the U.S. Embassy in Iran were released in 1981, Major League Baseball presented them with lifetime passes to big-league games.

Sports commentator Beano Cook responded: “Haven’t they suffered enough?”

[fitness1]

Originally Posted by cotten

Such contracts are one reason I prefer baseball and other sports at an amateur level.

cotten

I can't think of one good reason I'd go to any pro sports events anymore - the TV coverage is so good, ticket prices are out of sight and I HATE big crowds filled with screaming drunks.

Michigan has lost out PGA and LPGA event (actually this year we got the LPGA back) so I doubt I'll be changing my mind at any time soon.

[Rondoraymundo]

Hmmm, I go to sports forums and I hear a lot of this itching and oaning about contracts.

I don't get it. The Stanton contract is like all business contracts....both sides see it to their advantage.

Given Miami's market the contract would seem like a no brainer. But there is also something happening that is a huge factor in all of this: Major League baseball is poised on the brink of the next great wave of talented Latin players. Folks, we are talking serious talent here.....HOF caliber.

Gee, don't know about you guys with "business sense", I am just a casual observer, but I'd rather be on the crest of that wave rather than the trough. It's just like storm surge; it'll go a long way in Miami.

If you are a good business man, I would think you could squeeze more than $40,000 a bat in profits and then some without any problem.

[posternutbag]

It is a ton of money, no doubt. But one thing I always think about with baseball contracts is that in the very early 1990s, the Atlanta Braves paid 3 of their starting pitchers (Smoltz, Glavine, Maddux) more than the entire payroll for the Kansas City Royals. I wonder how long it will be before a MLB player has a 1/2 billion dollar contract.

If you really want to see some stratospheric contracts, check out F1 auto racing. Ferrari pays there two drivers a combined $82M a year, Raikkonen makes $51M and Schumaker makes $31M. All of that is base. F1 drivers get large bonuses for wins.

[Dru Edwards]

Originally Posted by catdaddy

When the hostages from the U.S. Embassy in Iran were released in 1981, Major League Baseball presented them with lifetime passes to big-league games.

Sports commentator Beano Cook responded: “Haven’t they suffered enough?”

I didn't know that. I hope some of them did make it to games.

Originally Posted by fitness1

I can't think of one good reason I'd go to any pro sports events anymore - the TV coverage is so good, ticket prices are out of sight and I HATE big crowds filled with screaming drunks.

Michigan has lost out PGA and LPGA event (actually this year we got the LPGA back) so I doubt I'll be changing my mind at any time soon.

You're right, Todd. Sometimes the best seats to the games are at home in front in a cozy environment and large screen HD. Still, sometimes it's great to feel the crowd atmosphere but that only works if the games are sold out. Going to any sporting event with only 1/2 capacity doesn't have the same feeling.

[zabdart]

Originally Posted by Warren Gilmour

Come on guys, it's only $25mm per year...which is $154K per game and around $40K per at bat!

As a small market team, I don't see how they can compete having handcuffed themselves with such a ridiculous contract. Give it a couple years and he'll be with the Yankees....just like A-Rod when he left the Rangers.

I doubt if the Yankees are going to repeat the mistake they made with A-Rod with another player, no matter how good he is. I think a 5-year contract is about as long as Brian Cashman is willing to commit the Yankees.
And I don't blame him.

[sfden1]

Well, I wish the Marlins good luck with that, but I always think it's a mistake trying to build a winning team around one highly payed player. For me the best example of that was Barry Bonds.

True, he was exciting to watch as a hitter (which I understand is true of Stanton as well), but he was an ego in the club house, imho rather lackadasical in the outfield, and his salary made it hard for the Giants to get other quality players who could hit. There was a reason why Bonds got walked as much as he did. All you had to do for the most part was pitch around him.

Some of the best baseball I've seen in a long time from the Giants has been sans Barry Bonds. There are no superstars on the club (with the possible exceptions of Bumbgardner, Sandoval and Posey), just a lot of very solid team players who go all out to win.

Then there's the matter of fans. Ever see a Marlins game? The stands are pretty much empty. I don't see that changing in the forseeable future unless the Marlins can start winning games, and that means building a solid team.