Albert is going to get a quarter of a BILLION to play a game. Chances of him being around or of value in 10 years are remote.... yet they're giving him 250 million for 10 years. The world is officially screwed up.
I have no problem with it. TV contracts and the insane turnout of fans, jersey sales etc all pay for it. It's billionaires righting checks to millionaires. I have more constructive things to complain about. I just hate how on one hand guys despise the thought of redistribution of wealth in taxes and healthcare, but on the other are disgusted by a free market career making gobs of money. You have to like one or the other. It is mind blowing how they come up with so much money though!
Professional sports are a business. That's the bottom line. Like it or not, the teams are out there to make money just as hard as they are trying to win championships. The Angels play in about the 2nd or 3rd biggest media market in baseball. Their opportunities to promote "The greatest player in the game", are going to be there. Like Trevor said fans showing up, merchandise, cashing in on future milestones, etc. Albert Pujols has been the best performer in a multi billion dollar industry. From the Angels stand point, Albert Pujols as a baseball player, and a reason to attract money to their business, is worth the cash that they spent.
It is a crazy amount of money that is for sure. What I dont get is the people who complain that he left for more money and say he should have stayed in St Louis. Sure 200 Million is more than anyone needs, but who would really turn down another 50 Million. I bet the percentage of people complaining that would do the same thing as Pulos if given the same opportunity would be like 99.99%
For his entire career, Albert has never been one of the top 15 paid players in the bigs. He has had to watch Ryan Howard, Joe Mauer, A-Rod and others strike it rich, all along knowing he was was a better player than them. The St. Louis fans that have bad feelings towards Pujols, are like that due to his comments over the past couple seasons. He has always said he wanted to stay in St. Louis, and it was about winning championships as a Cardinal and not the money that would be offered. I never really bought it, since he was just saying what everyone wanted to hear, but others feel betrayed, and lied to.
Funny you never hear anyone complaining about actors making 20 million for filming a movie for 4 months? Don't confuse this as a sport or game...it's the entertainment business with lots of $ involved. BTW...the Yanks signed A-Rod to a bigger deal than that a few years ago.
