On Yahoo Sports there's an AP article headlined "A-Rod loses $200,000 in All-Star bonuses." It's a little misleading. When Alex Rodriguez signed his old megadeal with Texas it included clauses that would pay him $100,000 for making the All-Star team and another $100,000 if he led his league in fan voting. He opted out of his deal after last year. His new megadeal with the Yankees includes no such clauses, as the team policy is not to include clauses for such things as All-Star games, MVP awards and Gold Gloves.
However, the article goes on to mention some other All-Stars and their clauses. The largest bonus, $125,000, goes to Toronto's Roy Halladay. The article says that Halladay wasn’t aware of the bonus, saying he leaves things like that to his agent: "The fun part is being part of the team. That’s what’s exciting and fun for me, fun for my family,” Halladay said.
Then there's Chipper Jones.
On Yahoo Sports there's an AP article headlined "A-Rod loses $200,000 in All-Star bonuses." It's a little misleading. When Alex Rodriguez signed his old megadeal with Texas it included clauses that would pay him $100,000 for making the All-Star team and another $100,000 if he led his league in fan voting. He opted out of his deal after last year. His new megadeal with the Yankees includes no such clauses, as the team policy is not to include clauses for such things as All-Star games, MVP awards and Gold Gloves.
However, the article goes on to mention some other All-Stars and their clauses. The largest bonus, $125,000, goes to Toronto's Roy Halladay. The article says that Halladay wasn’t aware of the bonus, saying he leaves things like that to his agent: "The fun part is being part of the team. That’s what’s exciting and fun for me, fun for my family,” Halladay said.
Then there’s Chipper Jones. As a result of his making the team, the Braves star’s salary for 2009 will go up from $8 million to $10 million next year. His contract, says the article, “contains a complicated points provision for various honors, and his 2009 pay could increase to $11 million depending on postseason awards this year.” Said Chipper: “That deal was signed a long time ago, so you forget about the little sidebars, as far as your contract goes, when you immerse yourself in the game…I’m not worried about the money. I’ve made my money in this game. I just want to get back healthy and get back to the point where I’m producing at a high rate like I was earlier in my career. The people who play this game just for the money, they’ll get weeded out eventually. I’ve never played this game for love of the money.”
And here's what Cleveland’s Grady Sizemore said about his All-Star sort-of-reward, the price of Cleveland’s 2012 club option going up from $8.5 million to $9 million: "I don’t know what my incentives are for those kinds of things. I let my agent handle that. I didn’t negotiate that kind of stuff."
Give me a break! They're just saying this stuff because it's good public relations to say it. If money weren't that much of an issue they wouldn't ask for these clauses to begin with. However, of the 63 players selected for the All-Star teams, 42 of them are earning a total of $1.92 million in bonuses — and that amount's actually down from $2.13 million last year. Sheesh.
By the way, don't feel sorry for A-Rod. He's still making $27 million this year, and he's got a prenup so his soon-to-be ex-wife isn't likely to totally clean him out in their impending divorce. — Joe Guckin
