re: List of every MLB player being paid deferred payments in 2023

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Maybe one of you money guys can explain the Sutter reference. How in the world did that hapoen?

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Ted Turner owned the Braves at this time and this was during the SuperStation era of the Braves and Cubs. No luxury tax at the time and Ted could afford it. Sutter was at the time considered the best relief pitcher at that time. He went from the Cubs to the Cardinals to the Braves. At the time he had mastered the split fingered fastball but it put too much stress on his arm.

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at the time and Ted could afford it. Sutter was at the time considered the best relief pitcher at that time. He went from the Cubs to the Cardinals to the Braves. At the time he had mastered the split fingered fastball but it put too much stress on his arm.

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At those times, those were some times.

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Maybe one of you money guys can explain the Sutter reference. How in the world did that hapoen?

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I read about this yesterday. His original contract was for 9.1 million. He agreed to deferred payments with interest. He ended up receiving 1.12 million for over 30 years with a principle payoff of 9.1 million.

Some of these things may have been good deals when you consider the time value of money.

They were paid in deferred money to avoid paying money to them at the time they worked. That may have made sense if the team successfully used the money they didn't pay then to fill out their team and ended up winning a lot more. You would have to look at how the teams did when the deals were done and the effect of taking the deferred money out of their payroll at the time.

Baseball salary inflation probably makes this more attractive. Maybe in 2010 I want to pay my last piece of a champion another $10MM on his contract when the major pieces get $10-15 MM a year but I don't have it so I defer 20 years and pay out $20 MM total long after the guy is gone, but by that point a major piece would be making $30 MM a year and I probably don't have as good a shot at having a champion team anyway because they don't come along every year.


If I had to guess, the Red Sox made good deals because they have won 4 World Series since 2000, the Nationals maybe since Scherzer was very important to theirs, and the rest probably not because none of them won anything in the periods when the players were playing. (The Cards did with Holiday but this is probably for the period afterwards).