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Alex Rodriguez was not given the worst contract ever. I know what you have been brainwashed to believe — ad nauseam.
I know it is easier to accept more now than ever, as Rodriguez’s life and legacy are perp-walked publicly, that his $275 million, 10-year contract with the Yankees has been swindle and sinkhole. That it has less value than Honey Boo Boo’s views on the Industrial Revolution. That it is the greatest waste of money that any sports team has ever invested in a product — Ryan Leaf included.
But if this is your view, I think you are wrong.
You have to separate what you feel about the man today with his worth during his entire Yankee tenure – before and after signing that $275 million deal following the 2007 season. He has too often been an impediment, a disruption, an embarrassment. But he has hardly been money for nothing.
Kei Igawa was money for nothing. Carl Pavano was money for nothing. Pedro Feliciano was money for nothing.
The Yankees’ nine largest attendance figures in their glorious history are 2004-12.
Those coincide with the nine years A-Rod was on the field. Is he the only reason? Of course not. The Yanks had a conglomerate of stars; a winning, alluring product.
But they had that in many seasons, and yet just once from 1981-2003 did they lead the majors in attendance — which they did in each of Rodriguez’s first nine years. They never had drawn 4 million fans before. They did it four times with Rodriguez. And the faithful were so appalled by Rodriguez’s opting out of his contract after the 2007 campaign and receiving that record 10-year,
$275 million pact that the organization set its all-time attendance mark — 4,298,655 — in, right, 2008.
You love him, you hate him, you love to hate him, whatever it was, A-Rod was like the great WWE villain — you couldn’t wait to see what he did next. In person. On TV. Yep, those ratings on Yankees-owned YES really were something when he played. How have they been this year? Not so good. Attendance is down, too.
Again, it is not all Rodriguez. But he was the outsized personality in the cast, the hard-to-take-your-eyes-off guy. Is that worth $275 million? Perhaps not. But it is not worth zero. In fact, it was worth way more than that.
And then there is this: The Yankees needed to be compelling and win in 2009, perhaps like no year in their history. They were opening a new stadium. They were charging prices no one ever had seen for a baseball game before.
The Yanks won in 2009. Yes, for a lot of reasons. But Rodriguez was a huge one, even more so in the postseason. And he was no-doubt compelling. He was returning from major surgery. He admitted to steroid usage in his past. As always, he was A-Rod — a walking, talking storyline.
Do we all feel a little worse about it now if, as MLB has indicated, it has proof Rodriguez was cheating in 2009 after saying at his mea culpa press conference that February that he wanted to be judged from that day forward? Yes. But it does not alter the cha-ching that came the organization’s way by winning in 2009, renewing the brand further.
No club sells history and championships like the Yankees. And the Yanks certainly have linked 2009 to their title past. And they are not done monetizing it. As one veteran agent told me, the Yanks will be able to sell the 10th anniversary in 2019 and 20th in 2029, etc. Titles are the gifts that keep on giving.
How much is this all worth and how much of that worth is tied to A-Rod? There is no formula that provides exactitude. But it is clear all of his worst instincts and behavior did not cost the Yankees much, if any, business, while his presence filled coffers. He wore 1$ as much 13.
What would be fascinating is if Yankees officials would do it all over again knowing it all. When I have asked, most have said they would have found a way to spend the A-Rod money better and still win. But there is no guaranteeing that. The Yanks were popular and a financial behemoth in A-Rod’s era, and he was instrumental to that.
And there is the possibility the Yanks’ extension for Rodriguez will fall well short of costing $275 million. He is expected
to be suspended tomorrow for his ties to Biogenesis. For any amount of time he misses, he is not paid, so that means he costs the Yanks nothing. So, for example, if he is suspended for the rest of this year and all of next season, the Yanks will save about $35 million.
At least as vital to the organization would be that none of A-Rod’s $27.5 million average value of his contract would count toward the luxury tax payroll next year, making it considerably easier for the Yanks to get under the $189 million threshold. That is their goal because there are so many substantial financial benefits to doing so.
And there always is the possibility Rodriguez could be suspended for life, which would save the Yanks nearly $100 million.
But even if the Yanks have to pay every penny of the $275 million, it is not as if Rodriguez did not offset some considerable piece of that.
He might leave in disgrace, a blight on Yankee history. But he was not worthless.
joel.sherman@nypost.com