A report on ESPN.com has indicated that the Yankees may have taken between a loss of anywhere from $50-85 million for the 2005 season. This comes after a season in which the Yankees set an all-time franchise attendance record.

The article doesn't say for sure whether that number actually includes revenue brought in from the YES network. If it does, this comes as a complete shock to me. The Yankees play in the largest media market in the world, and it's not as if memorabilia sales have taken a major hit. The Yankees as a franchise are one of the largest, most successful businesses in all of sports. I guess the payroll was just too much. When you factor in revenue sharing and the luxury tax, the Yankees shelled out over $300 million (think about that: $300+ million to pay 25 guys to play baseball).

Well this would explain why the Yankees have decided to place a little more trust in their farm system and have refrained from chasing after a bunch of big name free agents this offseason. After Bernie's and Kevin Brown's salaries have come off the books, the Yankees' payroll should see a bit of a decrease if the Yankees don't make anymore major acquisitions.