Does the Money Just Appear?

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/dodgers/2011/11/matt-kemp-on-verge-of-signing-record-contract.html

Matt Kemp, a center fieldsman for the Los Angeles Dodgers, is about to sign a record contract which is said to be an eight year, $160 million deal. This deal could be the seventh largest deal in MLB history. Matt Kemp was one of the shining stars for the Dodgers last year leading in homeruns, RBIs, and second in average to the Milwaukee Brewers Ryan Braun. At age 27, Kemp is a young and rising star that the Dodgers are able to build around. Clearly, the Dodgers are about to make a great move signing this contract. However, the Dodgers filed for bankruptcy in 2011. Also, the Dodgers are currently looking for a new owner. So the question is where is the $160 million dollars coming from?

Frank McCourt, said he wanted to leave the Dodgers well off, once he left as owner. Within the article, it states that the contract does not have to be approved by the bankruptcy court. So, since he does not have any money, he is, in reality, signing this contract with someone else’s money. McCourt sees the Dodgers becoming more of a valuable property with Kemp sticking around. The MLB currently owns the team as they begin to rebuild. When it comes down to the contracts, they still have to wait for a new owner to come in and take on the responsibility of paying these players.

Contracts are a complex ordeal. I cannot personally wrap my head all of the information that comes along with them. I am not sure why they are signing these players, when the team does not even have near enough money to pay for them. The biggest problem is that when there is a new owner ready to step in, they take on all the debt that the Dodgers have acquired. As the saying goes, money doesn’t grow on trees. I believe that the Dodgers should really take a step forward and find their new owner before they make these contracts that they may not even be able to pay.

Sarah Ambrose
KIN 577