Why stars like Cano, Pujols are worth $240M -- and maybe more

It's a whole new ballgame today. Pujols and Cano can sign contracts that outlast their expected impact on the field because there is that much money in the
Why stars like Cano, Pujols are worth $240M -- and maybe more
Why stars like Cano, Pujols are worth $240M -- and maybe more /

The Mariners don't expect Robinson Cano to be worth $30 million at age 40, but he doesn't have to be either for the contract to be a smart investment :: Jae C. Hong/AP

It's a whole new ballgame today. Pujols and Cano can sign contracts that outlast their expected impact on the field because there is that much money in the game today and that much money expected to keep rolling in tomorrow. Whether baseball is that smart or that serendipitous, we live in an age in which technology has made live content the most valuable property for an entertainment-hungry American audience. And baseball, with its 2,430 games every year, is the king of all sports when it comes to an inventory of live content. If baseball builds upon this live content by continuing to scale up internationally -- that's why we have the World Baseball Classic and 4 a.m. games in Australia -- revenues may grow even faster than doubling every 10 years the way it has for the past two decades.


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Tom Verducci
TOM VERDUCCI

Tom Verducci is a senior writer for Sports Illustrated who has covered Major League Baseball since 1981. He also serves as an analyst for FOX Sports and the MLB Network; is a New York Times best-selling author; and cohosts The Book of Joe podcast with Joe Maddon. A five-time Emmy Award winner across three categories (studio analyst, reporter, short form writing) and nominated in a fourth (game analyst), he is a three-time National Sportswriter of the Year winner, two-time National Magazine Award finalist, and a Penn State Distinguished Alumnus Award recipient. Verducci is a member of the National Sports Media Hall of Fame, Baseball Writers Association of America (including past New York chapter chairman) and a Baseball Hall of Fame voter since 1993. He also is the only writer to be a game analyst for World Series telecasts. He lives in New Jersey with his wife, with whom he has two children.