Now That 85 Million Dollars Isn't Much Money...

At least, that's the impression you'd get if you've been keeping up with baseball news lately. Angels pitcher, Jared Weaver has decided to re-sign with the team, sighting his love of the west coast and the team as his main motivation.

Immediately, the baseball press made a very large deal out of his decision. Why would he not go into free agency where he's sure to get a better deal than the one he received from the Angels? One MLB Network anchor even suggested that he should have gone into free agency just to come back to the Angels with a better deal. And so Jared Weaver has become a poster boy for loyalty and for team pride over money. And don't get me wrong, I appreciate that Weaver wanted to stay with the team he loves even if he got less money for it.

But here's the thing. The Angels contract is 85 million dollars for five years. That's right, Jared Weaver is going to make 17 million dollars a year and the baseball press is acting as if the guy is going to be suffering. True, he could have gotten more but in his words,

“How much more do you need?” Weaver asked. “Could have got more, whatever. Who cares?”

Indeed, at that level of money, who cares about another 10 or 20 million?