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Yankees Owner Hal Steinbrenner Complains About 'Difficult' Spending by Rival

Originally posted on Athlon Sports | By Tony Adame | Last updated Jan 30, 2025 12:23 PM ET

It's going to be pretty tough for the general public to believe New York Yankees owner Hal Steinbrenner when he pleads poverty — especially with Forbes valuing the franchise at approximately $7.5 billion in 2024, which was tops in all of MLB.

Steinbrenner might not have taken the public's perception in to account when he recently went off on a rival team's spending in an interview with the YES Network on January 28

"It's difficult for most of us owners to be able to do the kind of things that they're doing," Steinbrenner said. "We'll see if it pays off."

While Steinbrenner might be called out for sour grapes by talking about the Dodgers' spending, the defending World Series champions have been on a wild spending spree in the offseason.

From ESPN: "The Dodgers have spent more than $450 million guaranteed this offseason, pushing their 2025 luxury tax payroll to approximately $390 million. With the penalties for exceeding the $241 million threshold, the Dodgers' total payroll for this year likely will be in excess of $500 million."

Steinbrenner also might be feeling the burn from losing one of his superstar players to a massive contract to another team after 26-year-old outfielder Juan Soto spurned the Yankees to sign a 15-year, $765 million contract with the New York Mets — the largest contract in professional sports history.

This article first appeared on Athlon Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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