Story in New York Times today claiming that the Yankees aren't making much (or any) money on an annual basis, instead concentrating on building long term value. I think there's probably some truth to that, but I suspect that the Yankees earn considerably more money from the YES network than they claim. The article brings up the $64 million in "rights fees" the Yankees receive from YES (and Adidas). The Yankees OWN the YES Network, so the Yankees are paying rights fees to themselves. The more telling figure is the profitability of the network, which will probably be hard to find given YES is a private enterprise. In any case, I'm certain that the $64 million figure understates the revenue generated by the network.

If only the Royals had these kinds of problems.