From today's KC Star. Don't get too excited, David Glass is still a cheap bastard:
Royals’ payroll pinch tighter than previously believed
By BOB DUTTON
The Kansas City Star
NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- Royals owner David Glass created a stir recently in revealing $70 million to be the budgeted break-even point for the club’s 2013 payroll.
Well, the financial pinch is a lot tighter than initially believed.
That $70 million includes far more than salaries allocated to the 25-man roster for opening day. Club officials say it encompasses the entire 40-man roster and also includes the signing bonus limits for the draft and international spending.
That reduces the break-even point for the 25-man roster – the figure generally used for comparison purposes in public discussions – to roughly $57 million. The draft and international limits under the new labor agreement comprise about $10 million.
It also means, as things currently stand, the Royals are already over budget since the projected payroll for their 25-man roster is roughly $65 million.
Glass expressed willingness to subsidize the payroll at a moderate level, which he said he has often done in the past, but the numbers explain why general manager Dayton Moore believes any further payroll additions will likely require corresponding cuts.
“I’ve always been willing to spend whatever cash we’ve generated on payroll,” Glass said, “and I’ve even been willing to subsidize it under conditions where we have an opportunity to be competitive in our division. I’ve never changed from that.”
While top club officials, present and past, affirm Glass’ contention that he doesn’t pocket an operating profit, those assertions are a stark contrast to figures published by Forbes magazine, which contend Glass made about $100 million from 2000-11.
Major League Baseball has long contended the Forbes figures, which are calculated without access to club financial statements, are wildly inaccurate.
“Mr. Glass has gone above and beyond,” Moore said, “in supporting our team in everything we’ve wanted to do internationally, through the draft and in building and improving our major-league payroll. He’s been extremely supportive.
“We’ve signed virtually every single player who we’ve identified as being worthy of a long-term contract. Does he ask tough questions? Yeah, but there’s not anybody I’ve ever met who is more passionate or a better historian of the game. He owns a major-league team for all of the right reasons.”
Read more here:
http://www.kansascity.com/2012/12/06...#storylink=cpy