New York Yankees Spending Spree Makes Us Appreciate The NFL Even More

Want a reminder as to why the NFL is so great?

Take a look at the offseason the Yankees have had. They’ve signed all three significant free agents on the market to insane contracts. They’re outspending the nearest team in payroll by $70 million.

For crying out loud, the left side of their infield will make more money this season than the entire roster of four teams (Marlins, Rays, A’s, and Pirates).

It’s unfair. It’s bad business. It’s insanely stupid business.

Yankee fans will make the argument that their team is just playing by the rules. They’ll tell you that baseball is better off when the Yankees are great.

They feel it’s their God given right to win championships and teams like the Pirates don’t matter because, as one caller on Chris “Mad Dog” Russo’s show said today, “They won’t be around in 10 years anyway.”

Yankee fans who believe any of that crap are pompous morons. Emphasis on morons. And pompous. OK, emphasis on both.

This garbage just makes me appreciate the NFL even more than I already do.

The NFL isn’t perfect, not by any stretch. There are still discrepancies between large and small markets. Teams like the Bills and Jaguars struggle to make ends meet in small markets. But they DO make ends meet. They can compete.

In MLB, that’s not the case. The have-nots cannot compete with the haves on a consistent basis.

In the NFL, the Pittsburgh Steelers are a consistent Super Bowl threat. In MLB, the Pirates are consistently pathetic because they don’t have enough money to compete.

In the NFL, franchises like Green Bay not only exist, but they thrive. Thanks to the owners putting the league ahead of their own interests, the New York Jets and Giants are on basically the same playing field financially as the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and the San Diego Chargers.

In the NFL, you need a front office that can judge talent and a head coach who can get the job done. In MLB, you need to be from the city of New York, or you need to hope they’re so incompetent (as they’ve been the last few years) that you can beat them even with the financial discrepancy.

I love the NFL. I love the NFL because the Atlanta Falcons can be the worst team in the NFC one season, and a playoff team the next.

I love the NFL because the Miami Dolphins can nearly go winless one season, then be in position to win the AFC East the next.

I love the NFL because everyone, even the Detroit Lions, feel like they have a shot to win the Super Bowl next season. And for most (except maybe the Detroit Lions), it’s a legitimate feeling.

Every MLB season the Yankees and Red Sox go into the season knowing they can win a championship. The Angels, Mets, and a few others think they have a shot. Everyone else hopes they can catch lightning in a bottle.

That’s ridiculous. It’s stupid. It’s why I pay no attention to baseball outside of the Red Sox. It’s why I’m now completely done with baseball.

The NFL has shown everyone the way. Baseball refuses to follow. So screw them. I’ll find something else to do over the summer.

But hey, at least the Yankees will sell out their brand spanking new stadium. I just hope they enjoy playing all of their road games in empty stadiums.

Maybe the NFL will start up a summer league….

Sean Crowe covers the New England Patriots for Examiner.com and writes a bi-weekly column for Sports-Central.org.

He is a Senior Writer and an NFL Community Leader at Bleacher Report. You can email him at [e-mail]. His archive can be found here.