Detroit Tigers don’t have many options for a powerless Miguel Cabrera
By Bob Heyrman
The Detroit Tigers decided to extend the perennial All-Star back in 2014 when he had two years remaining on his current deal. It looks as though it will go down in history as one of the worst agreements in MLB or sports history; well until Harper is on the tail end of his deal.
It was an ill-advised, irresponsible, unnecessary mistake to give Miguel Cabrera an enormous contract extension when the Detroit Tigers decided they’d lock up their triple crown, back to back MVP winner. Major League Baseball seems to be on a downward swing amongst its’ fans in popularity. Yet, the league continues to hand out massive, ludicrous deals; can the league continue to survive doing this? The Tigers signed Miguel to an 8-year, 248-million dollar deal (AAV of 31-million) fully guaranteed in 2014 with two years remaining on his current deal. At the time it was the biggest contract in sports history.
Throughout the country the NFL & NBA dominate the ratings, then there is a string of college sports plus soccer that continues to gain momentum leaving MLB ratings to plummet. Somehow teams are able to continue to sign players to insane long-term deals.
Understanding teams like the New York Yankees have more money they can count. The Yankees seemingly will always be the Yankees. They have a tremendous fan base, play in a massive city, and most importantly– they have their own television network which helps with consistently funding a competitive team.