Yankees Editorial: Should The Yankees Just Pay A-Rod?
By Jason Evans
The spin machine continues. Alex Rodriguez tied Willie Mays Friday night with a game-winning laser shot to beat the Red Sox 3-2. We all know is his contract he’s supposed to get $6 million for doing so. The Yankees organization see it much differently.
"The bonuses, negotiated as part of his 10-year, $275 million deal signed in 2007, was billed as a marketing agreement. The Yankees have the “right to designate” the home runs as historical milestones, according to the wording.“It’s the sole discretion of the New York Yankees to determine whether each of these milestones is commercially marketable as the home-run chase,” according to the contract. “The Yankees have the right, but not the obligation, to determine whether it’s a commercially marketable milestone.”“We have the right,” Cashman said, “not the obligation to do something. And that’s it. It’s not you do this, you get that. It’s completely different.“I’ll let the other people above me handle it the rest of the way, but it’s not this two [homers] away, three away, four away, and all of a sudden, we’re choosing not to do something.“If we choose to pursue something [marketing rights], we will choose to pursue it. If we choose not to, it’s our right not to. In both cases, we’re honoring the contract."
Yes A-Rod lied about doing steroids on multiple occasions. Yes A-Rod is many things. You can argue about asterisks and steroids and things of that nature all day long.
The Yankees basically don’t feel they can make any money off A-Rod’s homer. The Yankees have more money than all of us know what to do with as well. Because of A-Rod’s tainted rep, the Yankees can’t even market him passing Mays.
On the other hand so does A-Rod. A-Rod believes he hit the milestone he should get paid for it and of course the union, one that he sued, will back him up because they have to.
There would be a very easy way to make this all go away. The Yankees could just pay it.
I get both sides. If I were the Yankees, I’d probably just pay it or try and make a deal with him for a couple million and make this all go away.
It’s going to get worse before it gets better.