The New York Yankees and Alex Rodriguez remain at odds over the $6 million A-Rod says he is owed for surpassing Willie Mays on Major League Baseball’s all-time home run list. Apparently the team offered a resolution that might be beneficial for both parties, but A-Rod turned it down.
According to Bill Madden of the New York Daily News, the Yankees suggested to the MLB Players Association months ago that the milestone dispute could be settled if the team made a charitable donation to the organization of Rodriguez’s choice. A-Rod reportedly turned down the proposal.
Madden notes that the Yankees were offering to make a donation of less than $6 million, so it’s unclear if A-Rod is concerned over pocketing the money for himself or the team honoring his marketing contract and paying the full $6 million.
The Yankees have argued that Rodriguez’s accomplishments are unmarketable in the wake of his one-year suspension and admission to using performance-enhancing drugs — the second such admission of his career. The team says it only agreed to pay the $6 million in the first place because A-Rod’s climb up the all-time home run list should have been accompanied by commercial and endorsement opportunities, of which there have been none.
When asked about the report of the Yankees offering to make a charitable donation instead of paying A-Rod, the slugger offered no comment.
“If you guys are so interested in my charities, I’ll be at the Boys and Girls Club on Tuesday,” Rodriguez said Sunday. “That’s a great organization and we welcome all you guys to come out and give the Boys and Girls Club some exposure.”
Rodriguez was supposed to file a grievance against the Yankees by Saturday, but that deadline was pushed back to Monday and could be pushed back even further. If an arbitrator determines that the Yankees must honor the milestone bonuses, the team would owe A-Rod the $6 million plus $3 million in luxury taxes.
A-Rod’s reputation is essentially ruined, and one of his own former teammates even acknowledged that recently. At this point, he’d probably rather pay $12 million of his own money to charity if it meant the Yankees still had to honor their end of his marketing deal.
