Cardinal Nation: A Time to Mourn

Story here.

Call me naive, but I did not see this coming. 

Comments

[Jill Wieber Lens]

Tim, I know exactly what you mean! I'm in shock over the whole thing.

[Jeff Standen]

Take heart. On those terms, it would have been worse for the Cards to re-sign him. Ten years, 250+ million, at an age where his best years are probably behind him? The killer is the no-trade clause, which will make it hard for another team to share in the cost.

[Calvin Massey]

Pujols needs a tax advisor. Jerry Brown, formerly Governor Moonbeam, proposes to raise the California income tax rate to something north of 12% on Pujols's level of income, from its current 10% or so. So lop off about $30 million in California income taxes alone, and his $254 million deal looks a lot closer to the $225 million that the Cards were offering. And he could have gone to the Marlins (zero state income tax) for around 210 million.

[Tim Zinnecker]

Calvin, I'm no tax lawyer, but I believe professional athletes end up filing a state tax return in each and every state where they play a game for which they are paid.

Even so, given that half of a player's games are "home" games, you make a good point (which probably makes you eligible to teach tax at your law school).

[Tung Yin]

As an Angels fan, all I can say is, "Nooooooooooo!!!!!!!!!"

Granted, Pujols has been an incredible player the past decade, possibly the best overall given his remarkable consistency. That said, locking him up for 10 years when he's already 32 (a baby by law faculty standards, but middle-aged by pro baseball standards), is a really horrible decision. You only have to look at Alex Rodriguez's declining production to see what an albatross of a massive long-term contract looks like.

Oh well, I should casting about for a back-up team to root for. Perhaps the Tampa Bay Rays?