Rays Ace Blake Snell Declares “I’m Not Playing Unless I Get Mine” About MLB Owners’ Proposal For A 50/50 Revenue Split

ESPN – Tampa Bay Rays ace Blake Snell says he will not play this season for a reduced salary, especially because the risk of contracting the coronavirus is “just not worth it.”

“Y’all gotta understand, man, for me to go — for me to take a pay cut is not happening, because the risk is through the roof,” Snell said while answering questions on his Twitch channel. “It’s a shorter season, less pay.

“No, I gotta get my money. I’m not playing unless I get mine, OK? And that’s just the way it is for me. Like, I’m sorry you guys think differently, but the risk is way the hell higher and the amount of money I’m making is way lower. Why would I think about doing that?”

“Bro, I’m risking my life,” Snell said. “What do you mean it should not be a thing? It should 100% be a thing. If I’m gonna play, I should be getting the money I signed to be getting paid. I should not be getting half of what I’m getting paid because the season’s cut in half, on top of a 33% cut of the half that’s already there — so I’m really getting, like, 25%.

“On top of that, it’s getting taxed. So imagine how much I’m actually making to play, you know what I’m saying?”

Snell likely speaks for a lot of players as it’s widely expected that the MLB players’ union will push back against owners’ requests that the players take a 50/50 revenue split. Snell was one of the top pitchers in the league last year but remains on a mostly team-friendly $50 million contract that would see him make $7.6 million this year. That contract number is a pittance compared to another ace in his division who likely wouldn’t even see the mound with the injured Chris Sale’s $30 million due for the Red Sox. There are certainly some reasons to be sympathetic for Snell as an elite player who has yet to see the massive pay days of comparably skilled pitchers.

Despite that, it’s sort of a tough look for Snell to come out so adamantly against what seems like a mostly fair split for players in uncertain economic times. Many experts have said baseball is one of the safer sports for the COVID-19 era with its inate ease of social distancing involved in the actual gameplay. There are rumors that, because of that, many other professional leagues have hoped MLB would take the lead and come back first to provide them a runway to bring their sports back. MLB’s notoriously rugged players union did a lot to keep PED testing at bay for years, even in the face of serious need for reform, and it makes sense they’d want to protect their players’ interests and earnings as best they can even when the entire league suffers financially.

But we all want sports back. And even with the numbers Snell throws out, 25% of $7.6 million would be $1.9 million. With a 10% agent cut, we’re at $1.7 million. After taxes, an estimated 37% rate not inclusive of writeoffs, he’s down another $632,700 to put him at a slightly rounded-up $1.1 million.

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Is that the $7.6 million pre-tax he hoped to make? No. But for a half-season of work in the most uncertain times socially and economically we’ve faced in the last 90 years, I’d say it’s not bad. I’m sure the 36 million unemployed Americans also wouldn’t mind playing a game for $1.1 million either, though I’d have to assume far less of them can crack 99 mph on a radar gun.

It’ll be a tough choice to make for some players, particularly the underpaid ones, and I’m not the type to count another man’s money. But I know I’m willing to step in and give up seven earned runs on eight pitches for a cool mil if need be. The juiced ball era would be nothing compared to the “DFS host now pitching exceedingly poorly after not throwing a ball for years” era for home runs.

I’d also be up to going out in the nude and licking people at these moronic maskless protests for the aforementioned $1.1 million too. But I guess that’s neither here nor there. Unless anyone reading this is REALLY  desperate for prank video content and has $1.1 million lying around. Then:

https://giphy.com/gifs/spongebob-spongebob-squarepants-episode-2-xT3i1fk4vydhZSMSli