Gary Franks: Sports superstars should help make America better

For me, the top story of the past week had nothing to do with politics, the federal government or wars abroad. For me, it was “the contract.”

As an avid lifelong New York Yankees fan, at first I was crushed by the Yankees’ failure to land and keep the young phenom Juan Soto. He accepted a whopping $765 million contract that with bonuses could eclipse the $800 million offered by the Yankees’ crosstown rivals, the New York Mets.

The Mets won the baseball sweepstakes. Or did they? Only time will tell.

This all sounds like sour grapes on my part. Yes, guilty as charged.

Well, take just six of the top paid athletes and the face value of their contracts would be more than half the tax revenue of many states, including Rhode Island, Delaware and Idaho. I do recognize that the athletes’ contracts pay out over many years, however. (Soto, with bonuses, would get over $800 million and the same for Shotei Ohtani. Patrick Mahomes would gross over $500 million; Mike Trout well over $400 million, Mookie Betts and Aaron Judge close to $400 million with bonuses).

This is the second time I witnessed Soto leave a team soon after being one of its leaders following a World Series appearance. He won a World Series with the Washington Nationals — an uncommon occurrence — and lost a World Series with the New York Yankees, a franchise that boasted a World Series winning tradition.

It also marks a new era in sports. You do not just have players competing against each other on the field, the court or arena. You now have billionaires competing against each other (sometimes corporations like the L.A. Dodgers) for talented athletes.

I do not regret “my” Yankees losing Soto. I had very short-term pain. The Yankees may be able to pick up several future Hall of Fame players for the money they were willing to spend on just one surefire Hall of Famer.

Back in the day, my sports idols were making a very small fraction of what today’s megastars earn. A six-figure contract was a big deal for Willie Mays, Bill Russell and Mickey Mantle.

In an ideal world, all the former sports stars and Hall of Famers still alive would receive a significant upgrade in their pensions from their respective sports, commensurate or at least acknowledging their contributions to the development and growth of their sports and the large salaries that followed. After all, it was the old-timers who paved the way, allowing the Sotos of the world to demand huge paydays.

Instead of handing over millions, if not billions, of dollars over time to the federal government in taxes, the top athletes could donate a part of their salaries to organizations that would help improve the plight of those who help pay their salaries indirectly. There are a host of organizations that could help them distribute money that would help Americans, as America has been very good to them.

So, as I anxiously await the next moves of “my” Yankees I hope that those talented players would use all of their gifts and resources in ways that could change America for the better and improve the lives of millions.