TAMPA, Fla. — Alex Rodriguez got a $3 million check from the Yankees on Wednesday. There’s no telling when the next one might come — or how much it will be worth.
The Wednesday payment to the banned third baseman was the final part of the signing bonus from the 10-year, $275 million contract the Yankees gave him following the 2007 season after he opted out of his deal.
Despite Saturday’s ruling by independent arbitrator Fredric Horowitz that reduced Major League Baseball’s suspension of Rodriguez from 211 games to 162 games and the postseason, the bonus was unaffected.
The $3 million will not, however, count against the luxury tax, which helps the Yankees in their effort to stay under the $189 million threshold.
The team will save more than $24 million because of the ban, but will still owe Rodriguez $61 million during the final three years of his contract unless a buyout is reached. Rodriguez and his legal team, filed a lawsuit in federal court Monday, attempting to get Horowitz’s ruling overturned. He has vowed to be in camp next month, since the collective bargaining agreement is vague about suspended players participating in spring training.