iagreewithidiots said:
Havent yet, but isnt it oh so much fun to hear every big name free agent being mentioned as a possible target for the Yankees.
So the Yankees not winning proves the luxury tax is decreasing payroll disparity?
I have been reading all about how the luxury tax in baseball doesn't work and cite the Yankees as the reason why. There is a major flaw in this logic, and it stems primarily from a few simple, but often unnoticed factors:
1. Baseball, right now, operates under the premise of a league consisting of 29 teams and the Yankees. All the Yankees can do right now is spend money on high-priced over-the-hill players; they do not develop any major-league caliber players at all. The sole reason they have not acquired Randy Johnson is because they do not have the necessary assets to give to Arizona for him. So, in order to keep their place in the standings, they are forced to spend BIG. Notice how they overpay (in $) for virtually every player they acquire or sign? This system perpetuates itself, and eventually will lead the them to a total collapse.
2. The Yankees revenue is upwards of $500-$600 million. They can easily afford to have a payroll 2X or 3X or more of the average team. There is no such revenue disparity in hockey. Also, while the Yankees are paying these high salaries, they still MAKE money hand over fist. The Wings have the most payroll in hockey, yet they lost money last year.
3. Baseball GM's have seen through the Oakland A's that a team can be consistently competitive with a shoestring budget, and the market is correcting itself all over the league (except NYY). Many, many more players are being cut and being paid much much less they had been prior. NHL GM's will see this too.
4. The tax level is very high in baseball, as a % of revenue. All indicators in any new NHL say that the % will be lower (maybe not fixed).
So, basically, the MLB economic engine is/will be very different from an NHL one; and I for one, think that it is producing a drag on salaries, and working to eliminate SOME revenue disparity. Is it perfect? No, but the mid-to-high market teams do not spend as lavishly in the past. (Except BOS, NYY, who both OWN their own highly profitable TV Networks, which no NHL team does).