"If Alex Rodriguez opts out of his contract, we will not participate in his free agency. That is accurate and that is definitive."

Filed under 'anything is possible'.

Worst-case scenario he won’t be back or there might be something in between.

Worst-case scenario is that he's back but has lost so much range that he can't credibly play the field, his hitting is no better than it was after he came back in September of last year, and there isn't much chance of improvement. That would be a DH who hits 261/341/369 and is owed $114 million over the next 5 years. That's worse for the Yankees than an A-Rod who never plays again.

"If we stay healthy this year, we could win some ball games."

"If Alex Rodriguez opts out of his contract, we will not participate in his free agency. That is accurate and that is definitive."

Cashman didn't participate in his free agency. That was Hank.

Poor Cashman, he gets to spend 200M on payroll *and* get absolved of any disaster contracts because of interference from Hank or the Tampa people or whomever. Breaks your heart.

Poor Cashman, he gets to spend 200M on payroll *and* get absolved of any disaster contracts because of interference from Hank or the Tampa people or whomever.

Second toughest job in sports next to Marina Sharapova's massage therapist.

So, is this an attempt to collect insurance monies

Yup. Just another insurance scam. I think this was the plot of an old Rockford Files episode.

Poor Cashman, he gets to spend 200M on payroll *and* get absolved of any disaster contracts because of interference from Hank or the Tampa people or whomever. Breaks your heart.

Please present evidence that Cashman had anything to do with the A-Rod negotiation.

S'allright. Get that aging, injury prone guy out of there. Who is his replacement again?

What is the insurance like on current contracts? I remember reading a few years ago that insurance on a decently sized sports contract had become more expensive than it is worth and teams had mostly started to go without.

A-Rod's resigning is possibly the worst baseball move I've seen and as a Yankees fan I have to say the circumstance under which it happened just makes it even worse and more baffling.

What are the chances the insurance company would refuse to pay, given the delay on ARod getting the surgery? Seems to me that unless there was a medical reason not to have the surgery several months ago, that they'd have a good argument that he should have been ready by early in the season, which would likely mean zero insurance payout depending on the insurance policy.

Supposedly, according to the medical folks, this surgery will restore more range of motion than A-Rod had in recent years. Might be a little early to write him off.

Please present evidence that Cashman had anything to do with the A-Rod negotiation.

He was the GM of the Yankees.

What is the insurance like on current contracts? I remember reading a few years ago that insurance on a decently sized sports contract had become more expensive than it is worth and teams had mostly started to go without.

I wonder what percentage of team payroll goes to insurance.

For what it's worth, this story does make it sound like it was strictly an ARod Hank deal with no Cashman.

That was my strong impression at the time, that Hanky swooped in and demanded it get done.

What is the insurance like on current contracts? I remember reading a few years ago that insurance on a decently sized sports contract had become more expensive than it is worth and teams had mostly started to go without.

I don't see how it could be any other way. Insurance companies aren't charities, they do what they do because they can get more money in premiums, than they pay out. The point of insurance for the insured, is to prevent a situation that they can't afford. But any team can afford to eat a contract, and be ok. And with high risk assets like baseball contracts, you are basically guaranteed to end up paying more by insuring in the long run. Any baseball team that isn't self-insuring is fiscally retarded (or the insurance company is).

I wonder if there are instruments on the various online contract markets (intrade, etc.) that might make sense for things like this. Probably the trading volume is insufficient to make that a viable option either. I guess I answered my own question.

For what it's worth, this story does make it sound like it was strictly an ARod Hank deal with no Cashman.

Didn't Boras openly brag that he bypassed Mr. Cashman entirely and called Randy Levine or Young Master Steinbrenner directly?

But the good news is that A-Rod can crack the starting lineup for the All-Dead Team.

#14 Around a decade ago Forbes had an article on insurance of sports contracts. Insurance costs had risen to the point that a number of teams were either going without or were forming pools to (partially) mutually insure contracts. (as #19 mentions)

Basically a number of players had dropped out, and most insurers only want to hold ~3 million on any given contract. At that time it was almost impossible to get more than ~9 million in insurance.

But unless I'm mistaken ARod's contract is a specific exception.

I'm guessing the fact that his age was a factor. An insurer would probably feel more comfortable taking a risk on a 25 year old (his age when he signed with the Rangers) and even at 31 (age of his 2nd contact) he was still a reasonable risk.