Good morning, all! I hope your Tuesday is off to a great start!
The Seattle Seahawks delivered a big statement in their dominant win over the New England Patriots in Super Bowl LX. As I explain in the commentary, the Patriots are going to have to live with it.
Here are some other thoughts, as pitchers and catchers report today:
Less than 12 hours after the Seahawks dismantled the Patriots in the Super Bowl, the Red Sox announced a multiplayer deal with the Milwaukee Brewers that no one predicted. The Sox acquired infielder Caleb Durbin from the defending NL Central Division champs, along with two other infielders, Andruw Monasterio, Anthony Siegler and a Competitive Balance Round B draft pick. Milwaukee obtained LHP Kyle Harrison, LHP prospect Shane Drohan and infielder David Hamilton. The Red Sox had picked up Hamilton from the Brewers in the Jackie Bradley Jr. deal on Dec. 1, 2021. With Harrison going to Milwaukee, the Red Sox have just one player remaining (Jose Bello) from the four they acquired from the Giants in the Rafael Devers trade last year. If nothing else, it got the local sport talk shows in sports crazy Boston to talk some baseball, in the Super Bowl’s aftermath.
Turns out, Seattle Seahawks QB Sam Darnold lost money for winning the Super Bowl in California, where the state has a “jock tax.” Each player on the winning Super Bowl team collected $178K, but because California has the nation’s highest state income tax rate at 14.6% (this includes a 1.3% disability insurance tax), Darnold has to fork over $249K to California. It is all based on his $33M-plus annual contract, and the fact he earned part of that money while spending eight days last week in California practicing and then playing in the game. Los Angeles will be the venue for next year’s Super Bowl, and there is no way around it, as far as teams flying in the day before the game. The NFL has a Super Bowl week filled with events in the host city, meaning teams must arrive the Sunday before the big game.
Glad to see the Pittsburgh Pirates making some moves to become more competitive this season. On Monday they agreed to a one-year deal with Marcell Ozuna for $12M. Ozuna belted 21 home runs last year for Atlanta. He will help.
Word is the NBA could announce the addition of two expansion teams by the summer with Las Vegas and Seattle the leading contenders.
Add the Detroit Tigers to the list of MLB teams abandoning their regional sports network and looking to MLB to produce the games. However, this move comes with a twist. MLB will also take on the regional television production of the NHL’s Detroit Red Wings. The Ilitch family owns both the Tigers and the Red Wings.
That is going to do it for today’s newsletter. Thank you for being a subscriber and have a terrific Tuesday!
DAN
