The Post-Gazette reports that the Pirates cover their entire player payroll via ticket sales and concession income. The rest is gravy.
TV money, revenue sharing…it’s all profit. Hundreds of millions in profit.
Owner Bob Nutting is running a con. All the promises made about drafting and developing might never come to fruition and, even best case, that's years away. It's a future that doesn't arrive.
If the Pirates do build a good team, will Nutting spend to keep it together? He didn’t in 2015.
Nutting’s lease on PNC Park expires in 2030.
Here’s what Pittsburgh and Allegheny County should do:
Nutting should be told that, beginning in 2025, the Pirates’ payroll must, at minimum, equate to MLB’s average. That’s currently $145 million. Or the median, which appears to be roughly $120m.
That should be required of the Pirates yearly moving forward, as should full financial transparency.
The Pirates’ payroll right now is $47.7m, baseball’s fourth-lowest.
If Nutting doesn’t meet those requirements, the city shouldn’t renew his lease in 2030. If Nutting complies, it should be made part of the lease as of ’30.
No baseball would be better than this baseball, and better than being taken advantage of.
If that hillbilly crook wants to take his Ponzi scheme elsewhere, let him.
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