Local media contracts made up 41% of total media revenue in baseball last year. The local media revenue is shared at 31% while national media, international media, and internet media are shared at 100%. In fact, the commissioner actually has wide leeway to distribute the national TV contract and Selig actually gives the lower revenue teams a greater cut of the national contract than the big revenue teams.

You add in lesser figures for the luxury tax (paid mostly by the Yankees) and various national sponsorships and merchandising (unless it’s sold in-stadium or in a store wholly owned by a team, all merchandising revenues are shared at 100% as well), and we’re talking about an impressive amount of shared revenue going on. The Marlins now essentially start off with roughly 80 million dollars in revenue before selling a single ticket.

Internet and international have been the fastest growing revenue sources for teams. 2008 figures aren’t public yet, but MLB Advanced Media is expected to be in the half a billion dollar range by itself (owned equally by the 30 teams from investments each kicked in of $2.6 million a few years ago).

MLB is awash with cash right now from top to bottom. I don’t want to see the Yankees signing all these players, I want all these teams, which do have the money out there, to be getting these players too. Forbes estimates the Marlins had an operating profit of $37 million (which doesn’t included MLBAM profits, which are considered separate). The team could’ve signed 2 of Sabathia/Burnett/Teixeira without going into the red even if it didn’t generate a cent in extra revenue, which is an absurdly ridiculous scenario!

While I support the right to make a profit strenuously, I feel that if someone’s giving you a lot of money to invest, there’s some ethical responsibility to use that money in the spirit intended. My grandfather gave me a good chunk of money back when I was entering college and while I would’ve been perfectly within my rights to spend it on an Audi, I don’t think it would have been the right thing to do.

I believe that the Marlins, Pirates, and Royals have a duty to spend the money, money they have relatively little part in generating (the Yankees, for instance, need teams to play, but they certainly don’t absolutely need 29 of them!) and an additional duty to spend that money responsibly

. Signing Jose Guillen would be the equivalent of having spent that college money on beer and lottery tickets (well, the lottery tickets).

I had the same admiration for the Rangers when they signed A-Rod. OK, Hicks didn’t do a great job in the negotiation and ended up bidding against himself, but I always admire someone who takes risks in order to achieve excellence.

I guess the most amusing thing about this is how nobody ever really suggested A.J. Burnett was an Amazingly Awesome Player until the Yankees signed him.