For those wondering how the Los Angeles Dodgers were planning on paying for the nearly $200 million in payroll next season (and the luxury tax that will come with it), you now have your answer. The Dodgers are nearing a new television deal with Fox Sports worth at least $6 billion, per the Los Angeles Times:
Dodgers, Fox Sports closing in on $6 billion TV deal
The Dodgers are nearing a TV deal that will award them upwards of $6 billion.
Kirby Lee-US PRESSWIRE
The deal could be worth three times what the Dodgers’ new owners paid for the team and almost 20 times the value of the Dodgers’ current television contract.
The deal is not done, the parties said, speaking on condition of anonymity because of the ongoing negotiations.
If the two sides do not strike a deal by Friday, the Dodgers would have until the following Friday to present Fox with a final offer, according to the team’s current contract. Fox would then have 30 days to accept or reject the offer.
If the proposed deal -- which is for 25 years -- comes to the low estimate of $6 billion, the Dodgers would receive nearly $240 million a year from Fox Sports. The math and money involved get even crazier if the total amount jumps to $7 billion, per Jeff Passan of CBS Sports:
If the Dodgers' TV deal reaches $7B, Fox will pay $1.73M for each of the 4,050 regular-season games over the next 25 years.
— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) November 26, 2012
The new agreement will not only pave the way for the Dodgers to cover their already mammoth payroll for the 2013 season, but could also lead to a team-specific channel in the same vein as the Yankees' broadcast network and cash cow, YES, which Fox just bought a 49 percent stake in.
There is still the chance that the Dodgers and Fox Sports will not come to an agreement, which would leave the door open for Time Warner Cable to swoop in and negotiate exclusive broadcast rights with the club.
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