Sunday, December 04, 2005

Selig's Luxury Tax Dollars at Work: Part 2

From ESPN.com: (and by the way, part 1 was posted back in January, after the Junkees couldn't sign Beltran. Speaking of Beltran, with the Mets' lineup improving next year thanks to Delgado and LoDuca, I think Carlos will have an A-Rod-esque bounce-back second year in New York).

The New York Yankees lost between $50 million and $85 million for the 2005 season, the New York Daily News reported Sunday.

Despite drawing more than four million fans, a payroll of $200 million plus an additional $110 million in revenue sharing and luxury taxes has left the Yankees in the red, according to the paper.

"Yes, even George has his limits," one source told the Daily News.

The paper also reports that the Yankees might have to open up their checkbooks even further if a consultant hired by MLB decides the team undervalued their television rights.

The Yankees currently charge the YES Network about $60 million a year to broadcast games, but if it's found to be undervalued, the Yankees will have to make up the difference by putting more money into the revenue-sharing fund, the paper reported.

"They're going to owe us money," one MLB source predicted to the paper.

The final numbers won't be crunched for a few months, but it's believed the final number will be roughly $80 million when all is tallied. According to Forbes magazine, the Yankees lost $37.1 million in 2004.

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