Yankees lower luxury tax bill for second straight year

Yankees lower luxury tax bill for second straight year

Associated Press

http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=3168051

NEW YORK -- The New York Yankees did accomplish something this year: They lowered their luxury tax for the second straight season.

The Yankees were hit with a tax bill of $23.88 million by Major League Baseball in a notice sent to teams late Friday, pushing them over the $100 million mark since the penalty for profligate spending was introduced in 2003.

The only other club that must pay the competitive-balance tax, as it is formally known, is the World Series champion Boston Red Sox, who owe $6.06 million.

Checks are due at the commissioner's office by Jan. 31.

New York's bill is down from $26 million last year and a high of $33.98 million in 2005. In all, the Yankees have run up taxes of $121.6 million in five seasons with no World Series title to show for it.

The Yankees' tax total would have dropped even lower had they not signed Roger Clemens in midseason. The Rocket went 6-6 with a 4.18 ERA in 18 appearances, and he cost New York a $6.98 million tax increase in addition to the $17,442,637 in salary he earned.

He left Game 3 of the Yankees' first-round playoff series against Cleveland in the third inning because of an injured hamstring. New York won the game but was eliminated by the Indians the following night.

Boston will be paying tax for the fourth straight season but the bill for the Red Sox has been only a fraction of what the Yankees have paid. Boston's four-year total is $13.86 million, including just $497,549 in 2006.

The only other team to pay tax was the Angels, who owed $927,059 for 2004.

New York's payroll was $207.7 million and Boston was second at $163.1 million for luxury tax purposes, which uses the average annual values of contracts for 40-man rosters and adds benefits. Both teams pay at a 40 percent rate for the amount over the tax threshold, which rises from $148 million this year to $155 million next season.

New York figures to lower its payroll without Clemens next year -- unless the Yankees acquire Johan Santana from Minnesota and sign the two-time AL Cy Young Award winner to a big extension.

Copyright 2007 by The Associated Press

Not $25 million.. Did you read the Article It's $23 million, down from last year..

It goes up to 172M next year so if Hank let's Cash do his job, this will be the last year they will be significantly over the luxury tax number.

With the 40% deduction of dept service for the stadium construction costs plus getting under the tax threshold next year, the lower 6 teams that get the revenue & tax sharing money from the Top 6 teams could lose 8-10M per year.

How about Pedro Roid Rage when He threw a Old Man Don Zimmer on the ground?

Second, How many times Pedro Hit Yankees batters? Is it Roid Rage as well?

What now for the Bulls?
posted: Monday, December 24, 2007 | Feedback | Print Entry

With the Bulls massively underachieving expectations and reports that some players were bristling at Scott Skiles' approach, it certainly doesn't come as a shock that he was dismissed today -- not even with the Grinch-like timing of the announcement.

However, if you start enumerating reasons why the Bulls have failed to succeed this year, you'll get pretty far down the list before you reach the items that can be pinned on Skiles. To wit:

1. Kirk Hinrich has been awful. It's very hard to pin this on Skiles and very easy to pin it on, um, Hinrich. Skiles called the same plays that gave Hinrich a career year last season, but this season Hinrich has executed them horribly. Always a streaky shooter, he's at 38 percent from the floor, and his turnover ratio is way up, too.

2. Ben Gordon has been awful. Again, tough to blame this one on Skiles. Perhaps Gordon would have been more relaxed if he'd taken that $50 million offer that was on the table; instead, he's this year's Bonzi Wells Award winner as he stumbles along at 38.5 percent from the floor. For reasons that aren't entirely clear, he's also been far less willing to pull the trigger, and as a result he's lost nearly six points off his 40-minute scoring average.

3. Ben Wallace has been awful. They don't expect much from him offensively, but they expect more than 32.8 percent shooting and 5.5 points per 40 minutes. More importantly, his rebounds are way down, and he's not dominating the middle on defense the way he once did. Of the five Chicago frontcourt players to play at least somewhat regularly, he's been the least effective. Meanwhile, somewhere in Louisiana, Tyson Chandler giggles quietly.

I fail to see how any of the items above are Skiles' fault, and they're unquestionably the three biggest reasons the Bulls have struggled. But you can't fire the players, as they say, so Skiles was the one who had to go.

The new coach has yet to be named, but whomever it is faces a stern challenge in reviving what has been the league's worst offense thus far. That said, there are some areas where Skiles failed and where he could more reasonably be taken to task; these are the areas at which the new guy might be able to shake things up and have some success:

1. Andres Nocioni has to play. Probably Skiles' biggest failing was that he stayed the course way too long instead of shaking up the lineup to reflect this year's new realities. The prime example of that was how he dealt with Nocioni. He plays the same position as Luol Deng and Skiles was reluctant to put the two together in the lineup -- but those have been Chicago's two best players all season. With Red Bull one of the few players pulling the trigger with confidence, averaging a team-leading 21.6 points per 40 minutes, it was unconscionable that he only played 25.5 minutes per game, and just 27 total in the final two games of the Skiles era.

The new coach must either play small with Nocioni as the power forward, or alternatively play big and move Deng to shooting guard, with Ben Gordon reverting to his old bench role. Either way, the Bulls are desperate for more scoring; keeping their best scorer on the bench for half the game has been an odd way to go about looking for a cure.

2. Give the young bigs a chance. The new coach has to seriously consider a massive upheaval in the frontcourt rotation. Wallace has played the most minutes of the Bulls' five frontcourt players, but he's been far and away the least effective player. Rookie Joakim Noah has played extremely well in his limited minutes and is deserving of more extended run, and fellow newcomer Aaron Gray also needs playing time. Until or unless Chicago makes its much-discussed trade for a traditional post player, going with high energy guys like Noah and Tyrus Thomas up front might be the best option to end the malaise -- at least with those guys out there the Bulls aren't playing 4-against-5 every trip, and they'll get some extra offensive boards from all those bricks the guards are firing up.

3. The D needs to get back to last year's intensity. Chicago wasn't a great offensive team a season ago, but the Bulls made up for it by playing unbelievably hard on D. While most of the drop-off this year has been at the offensive end, the defense has also slumped -- most notably when it gave up 116 points at home to Houston in Skiles' last game. Chicago ranks 10th in defensive efficiency this season; a year ago the Bulls were No. 1. Some of that can be pinned on Wallace's general decline, but some of it is also a loss of the fire they showed on that end last season. Perhaps the new coach can bring it back.

I think Luxury tax It goes up to 172M next year so if Hank let's Cash do his job, this will be the last year they will be significantly over the luxury tax number.

With the 40% deduction of dept service for the stadium construction costs plus getting under the tax threshold next year, the lower 6 teams that get the revenue & tax sharing money from the Top 6 teams could lose 8-10M per year.

And yet people hate us and say we’re bad for baseball…


It's actually The difference between Yankees and Redsox payroll is $44million not $50 million. Please Re-read the article..

Redsox payroll with luxury tax is $163 million

Yankees payroll with luxury tax is $207

The Redsox still have second highest payroll in baseball. More than D-rays and Royals, Marlins combined. How do their Fans feel about this? It's time for baseball to put a salary cap..

If I understand the luxury cap correctly, the Yanks paid a little bit less in luxury tax this season because the threshold went up $8MM (in essence, the Yanks were at the same place as last year, but the thresshold went up).

I haven’t done the math, but off the top of my head, when you substract Clemens’ salary, plus transfers for Jaret Wright ($4MM to the Orioles) and for Randy Johnson (I forget the exact sum, but a little money went the Arizona way), and then add Hawkins plus raises to Mariano, Posada and A-Rod (plus to Cano and Wang), the Yankees will still end up with about $10MM less in payroll this year.

And next year, at least $46.5MM come of the books ($17MM for Giambi, $11M for Mussina, $10MM for Pavano, $5MM for Farnsworth and $3.5 MM for Hawkings - neither of which I believe the Yankees will keep), and up to $32MM extra depending on what happens with Pettitte and Abreu.

So if Santana/Sabathia and Texeira are available in the 2008/2009 off-season, the Yanks can still pony up about $35MM (say $20MM for Santana and $15MM for Texeira) and DECREASE their payroll by a nice chunk (plus the thresshold goes up an extra $8MM and the Yanks get revenue sharing relief for the new Yankee Stadium).

If I were the agent for Santana, I would be telling my client not to even think about accepting a trade. And if I’m the agent for Sabathia or Texeira, I’d be telling them not to sign any extensions and head for FA.

In the end Yankee spending helps baseball.

Sad isn’t it? The NYY keep helping those who REFUSE to pony up an are still the bad guys…lol ;-)!

Baseball players also have guaranteed contracts and play a sport that isn't as damaging on their bodies. They play multiple games a week b/c their bodies can handle it unlike in football. Baseball is not the highest revenue sport. Football is and it really isn't close. Every single point you made in your argument was incorrect. Baseball is the least overpaid sport??? Haha your credibility is now circling the drain.

Mery Xmas!!!!!!


BigWill you are in denial. Please stop arguing. There's a reason the yankees and Boston Yankees have won 6 of the past 12 WS.


By now it's abundantly clear that this luxury tax is not going to deter the Sox or Yanks from "over" spending, which is a rather subjective concept in the absence of a definitive salary cap. MLB should donate this 30 million to charity...otherwise, the egregious sum of this "luxury tax" is a slap in the face to every working-class individual who supports these large market teams.

gigante: "The only argument I have with what you say is that there are many teams in the NBA that started this year with no chance to win a title, and they knew it. Same in the NFL."

No doubt about that. I totally agree with you on that. The point I'm trying to make is that it there is a shift in power every so often. Remember when the 49ers were the team to beat? Where are they now? What's their record this year? How have the Lakers been doing lately?

Miami is probably one of the best examples of the benefits of a salary cap. They were on the verge of going 0-16. At the same time they are the only team to rack up an undefeated season. As much as it may suck to be a Miami fan right now, they have that one season to think back on. And that one season is more than enough to keep most of them hopeful for a brighter future and keep them on the band wagon.

I guess what I'm saying is in basketball and football, it isn't always going to be the same teams dominating every year. The teams that didn't have a prayer this year aren't necessarily going to be the same teams in the cellar next year. Their fans have hope.

It's very hard to be a fan of a small market baseball team. It is a huge emotional investment to to follow a team during the building years and a tremendous let down when it gets picked apart by big money teams just as they are on the verge of accomplishing something. Next time, you don't follow so close, you don't get quite so attached.

sploorp, I am not picking on you but that is Highly flawed argument trying to support other sports over baseball. Arizona and the marlins were both expansion teams and have both won World Series in this century. In the 80's and early 90's the Baltimore Orioles were the team to beat in the AL east not the Yankees or Red Sox, then the Blue Jays won in the mid 90's. Pittsburgh Pirates have great tradition with Willie Stargill (sp.) and that entire era of player. Now if you want to argue that that is a long dead era I will give that to you, but then again look at what teams like the Diamondbacks are doing now or the Kansas city Royals trying to spend money and be smart and compete or look at the money the Mets and Cubs throw around and their ineptitude. Everyone can say what they want but in baseball a team has just a good a chance to win as in the other sports. Go give your small market team rant to a fan of the Cardinals in football or the Clippers, Grizzlies or hornets in basketball and ask them how much they like their salary cap.

To suggest that the Red Sox fans should feel guilty about their team's salary is ridiculous.

The reason that the team can afford such salaries is that the fans have paid for these players, both by paying the highest ticket prices in baseball and by watching enough games on NESN (the Red Sox and Bruins owned station that carries the games.) That pays for $163 million in salary.

Boston is the eighth largest market in America, yet the Red Sox can afford the second highest payroll in baseball.

The Red Sox are committed to putting a winning team on the field every year. Their fans are committed to support that team every year.

If your ballpark has empty seats, then buy a ticket to the games in May. But don't complain about salaries of other teams. Colorado made the World Series with ticket prices less than 1/3 that of Boston. They only sold around 55% of their seats. And then they had the nerve to complain that Boston had a higher payroll.

If you want a better team, buy a ticket. Tell your friends, bring your family, or else shut up and admit that you just don't care that much anyway.

Teams that are supported and invest their money in the product on the field are to be commended

ESPN Holiday Card

I haven't seen this anywhere else on this site, but I just found this on ESPN.com Page 2. Choose New York from the pictures

http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/page2/holidaysmack/index?lpos=spotlight&lid=tab4pos1

I'm not writing a term paper here or my essay to get into grad school here. So the grammar argument doesn't hold up well. It's just used to get away from the topic at hand which in this case is Sanchez and Edwar.

Edwar's era and WHIP are garbage. They'll improve next season by default. Unless you're Colter Bean...getting a WHIP over 1.8 is pretty hard to do. Getting an era over 8 is also hard to do.

Edwar manages to K the side a lot while he's getting lit up. This way it looks like he's doing great. His job is to get outs and not give up runs. It makes no difference whether his outs are K's, fly balls, or ground outs. Obviously K's are preferred since it means no one is making contact. Still it doesn't mean much when the guy has an era over 8.

Small sample size? Sure and I'm willing to be he'll dominate in the spring like most bums usually do. People will use it as reasoning that he'll be great in 08.

I hope Edwar proves me wrong, but you know what I hope we win every game next year too. Logic tells me that neither will happen.