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In 2015 the Oakland A's signed Billy Butler from Kansas City to a three-year, $30 million contract. His performance tanked, they couldn't trade him to another
by MilnerRoute 3y ago
In 2015 the Oakland A's signed Billy Butler from Kansas City to a three-year, $30 million contract.
His performance tanked, they couldn't trade him to another team, and in the last year they ended up paying Billy Butler $10 million to not play for them.
It was a big deal because the payroll for the entire team was just $80 million...
- theluketaylor 3y agoKen Griffey Jr is something like the 3rd highest paid player on the Reds roster this year. He hasn’t played for them since 2008 and in 2016 went into the hall of fame as a Mariner, but the Reds owe him deferred salary through 2025.
- toyg 3y agoThis happens a lot in any professional sport. Sometimes remuneration and performance diverge substantially over the life of the contract. Football (soccer) fans should be familiar with the current predicament of Chelsea, for example, with lots of presumed-superstars on massive wages who are utterly underperforming but are very hard to sell.
- paxys 3y agoThis happens every year in professional sports leagues in the US. For a recent example from the NBA, John Wall got a $40M salary from the Houston Rockets for the 2021-22 season and didn't play a single game.
- dustincoates 3y agoI can't shed any tears. Not only because the A's owner is more than rich enough to have a higher payroll but is intentionally cheaping out in advance of uprooting the team. But also because I look at sports like football, where a player can get injured and often get no more money.