[DesertCat]

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You lost me at:
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I dont think Arod even cares about extra $$ anymore

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That's all nearly every pro athlete cares about at the end of the day. "They treated me right", "it was a great fit for my family/career/pet turtle", "they're an organization that's comitted to winning", et al is athlete code for "they showed me the money."

A-Rod is guaranteed to opt out. He'll get far, far more with a long-term contract now than he would playing out his present deal and getting an extension/new deal at it's conclusion. Why play for $25M a year when you can get $30M+? That's just silly.

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You are lost, thats for sure. Opting out is about locking down a big contract over his decline years, rather than risk going back on the market at age 34, when he might be hurt or playing worse.

And while generally athletes take the most money, A-Rod has already offered give up $30m if TX would have traded him to Boston. He hated being stuck on a loser and wont make that mistake.

A-rod is the only baseball player to sign a long term deal for over $20m per year and that deal was for his peak, not decline years. And it was widely acknowledged to be a huge mistake. No team is dumb enough to lock up a third of their payroll for seven years to a single aging player. He wont get an extension for more than his current 28m per year rate, and probably for slightly less. He is getting peace of mind for three or four more years.

In the end hes likely to not even opt out. NYY can afford to pay him the most plus they have an extra $30m to offer if he doesnt opt out (the Texas subsidy). This is just posturing by Boras to try to squeeze the yankees for as much of that subsidy as possible.