Another reason the Yanks should not try to correlate payroll and championships

I have been thinking about this for a couple of days. I believe that there is another reason that the Yankees (or any team with large payroll) should not try and correlate payroll and the winning of championships. The fact is, while they might be a state goal, I think it is really just a “nice to have”.

I suspect (I have no evidence for this, just a gut feeling) that winning a championship does not increase the revenue (and profits) of a team with an already high payroll by very much. On the otherhand, gaining or losing a “marquee” player probably does have an impact on revenue. I imagine that when a marquee player arrives, more people tune in to see him play, regaredless of how well or poorly he performs. The same is true when a marquee player leaves. Fewer people tune in because he is no longer playing.

The argument can be made, therefore, that A-Rod’s $252 million contract is not an investment in championships, but instead, an investment in profits. A-Rod is one of those players that people will come to see whether he does well or poorly. (In the latter case, they come to boo him.) I suspect that revenues and profits are up in New York more because of the presence of Marquee player than they are brought down by the absence of world championships. After all, it’s a business.