The New York Yankees shelled out a lot of money to re-acquire outfielder Aaron Judge this offseason. A mere dent in their estimated $ 6 billion worth.
That doesn’t mean they don’t shed money on parts where it’s not needed. Even when it pertains to their own personal Wi-Fi.
“I think most of our players can afford it,” Yankees general manager Brian Cashman told Sports Illustrated’s Stephanie Apstein.
That’s right, the Yankees organization doesn’t offer complimentary Wi-Fi on their chartered plane during the season.
Sports Illustrated also got a teasing quote from Yankees veteran outfielder Brett Gardener toward Judge.
“It’s your fault,” longtime center fielder Brett Gardner said. “Your contract is too big, so they can’t pay for the Wi-Fi.”
All nine years and $324 million of that contract, that is.
It turns out, it’s actually Delta that charges approximately $9 per flight. According to SI’s source in regard to such things, “an in-flight Wi-Fi plan for one team for one year costs approximately $40,000.”
Judge, however, said he wasn’t too worried about it as he has T-Mobile which offers free Wi-Fi on flights. He’s also a spokesman for the company, and it’s a partner of Major League Baseball.
So that doesn’t hurt anything either.
The estimated 2023 payroll for the Yankees this season is $272 million. And while a big chunk of that is because of Judge’s extension, it still was $249 million last season.
Let’s hope they get free peanuts.
