Fly the Frugal Skies

Economy-class Billionaire

Every so often, you come across a story that is both entirely meaningless and maddeningly stupid. News that the Yankees do not pay for in-flight Wi-Fi on the team's plane is one of those stories. 

On one hand, this was not an anonymous leak by a disgruntled player so I doubt anyone is really broken up about it. A bunch of multi-millionaires can certainly afford $9 per flight to post selfies on Instagram. 

On the other hand, SERIOUSLY YANKEES?

Reportedly, an in-flight Wi-Fi plan costs approximately $40,000 per year for the team. Let's put that cost into some ludicrous perspective:

• The Yankees' payroll in 2023 is expected to be $272 million
• $40,000 would add a bit more than 1/100 of 1% to that total (0.0147%)
• Forbes estimates the value of the Yankees franchise at $6 billion, with annual revenues of $482 million
• $40,000 is a bit less than 1/100 of 1% of that annual total (0.0083%)
• It would cost someone earning $100,000 the equivalent of $8.30 to pay for Wi-Fi annually
• A single season ticket on the Field MVP level (lower tier, wrapping around home plate) costs up to $18,079
• Aaron Judge's new contract pays him approximately $246,000 per game, or around $27,000 per inning

Remember, these are not casual flyers. Between all the road trips to the West coast and everywhere in between, the Yankees spend a lot of time in the air over the course of a season. It's not the end of the world, but not springing for Wi-Fi on the team's plane seems like an incredible oversight at best, and a really cheap move at worst. When viewed against their massive team revenues, it would almost literally cost them nothing.

Naturally, GM Brian Cashman had to chime in with the obviously true but still tone-deaf sentiment: "I think most of our players can afford it."