'Mo Money, Mo Problems'

By: Alex Bishop

New Rochelle, NY- New York Yankee shortstop, Derek Jeter, has sparked much media coverage in recent weeks and its not even baseball season.

The 36- year- old short stop for the New York Yankees major league baseball team, has expressed sincere irritation over the leaked information to the media regarding his financial negotiations. When he was asked recently if he was angry or disappointed, Jeter said, “A little bit of both. A lot of it was because of how I was being portrayed. Any time you have people saying you're this way or that way and you know it's not the truth, you're a little disappointed and angry at it. Most of them were saying, 'Why don't you just come out and say something?' I didn't because I said from the get-go I wasn't going to talk about it. Now that it's over with, I can address it today and then I won't talk about it anymore."

The deal, that has been discussed since the end of the last major league baseball season, involved Jeter, his personal agent and the New York Yankee baseball team, which has been the home of Derek Jeter since his first season in the major leagues in 1995.

Despite plenty of complaints on both sides, the deal has been reached. Jeter will be paid $51 million for 3 years as a Yankee. However, the specifics of the deal include incentives that Jeter can acquire through superb achievements. This aspect of the contract deal means that even though Jeter is scheduled to be paid a certain amount, he can still end up with more. There is a possible $17 million that Jeter can obtain through this part of the deal.

Here are the possible ways Jeter can gain more bucks for his bats:
• A $4 million bonus for winning AL MVP.
• A $2 million bonus for placing second through sixth in the AL MVP voting.
• A $1.5 million bonus for winning a Silver Slugger award.
• A $500,000 bonus for winning a Gold Glove.
• A $500,000 bonus for winning the League Championship Series MVP.
• A $500,000 bonus for winning the World Series MVP.

Kevin Davidoff, writer for newsday.com, expresses his opinion on Jeter’s contract and how he believes the Yankees benefited the most: “This is a team-friendly structure. Jeter is very unlikely to reach that $17 million figure. He's unlikely to get even halfway from $8 million to $17 million.”

Derek’s Jeter’s contract comes to many sport writers’ attention, including Adena Andrews. Andrews used to write for ESPN the Magazine and now is a contributing writer to espnW.com. Andrews expresses her issue with Jeter’s handling the media, but also notes that there is no denying Jeter’s accomplishments: “Note to Jeter, by voicing your dislike in the media you are extending the story and giving journalistic leeches more blood to suck out of the story. I was over the negotiations after the deal was signed, sealed and delivered. But once Jeter expressed his aversion to the negotiations the story was dragged through the 24-hour news cycle, and here I am writing a story about it a day later. This isn't to say that Jeter isn't the man. Five championships, an awesome arm and great hit-by-pitch acting skills are blessings not every man has in life. Jeter is privileged to have worked hard for them all.”

Online bloggers have been Jeter's biggest critics. Jason Gay, writer for the Wall Street Journal, offers little sympathy for Jeter’s recent media conundrum: “Well, la-dee-dah. Here's a brief list of things Mr. Jeter should be more angry at than the Yankees… That most people on earth would need to work for at least 10 years to earn his salary for one game…etc.”

Writers and columnists are quick to analyze a professional athlete, but what about a local fan of Jeter? Luis Amador, a junior at a New York College, expresses his feelings about Jeter’s situation: “It’s done now. A lot of people are going to continue to complain about his contract and whatnot. I still love him. Unlike Tiger Woods and other athletes that have harmed their reputation, Jeter hasn’t ruined his career. I just hope that he proves he’s worth at least half of what he’s being paid.”

Expand Your Knowledge:
- More by Adena Andrews regarding Jeter
- Other reasons why Jeter should be angry
- More specifics on the contract
- Steinbrenner's handling of Jeter's contract