12/30/2003 02:29:00 PM by Rob

Lunch with Chuck

Over a very tasty lunch with Ivy Chat Chuck, we were wondering what the significance is of January 1st, as a threshold beyond which it will be OK to negotiate with Greg Maddux (and/or, hopefully, Pudge)?

Unfortunately, I was looking at it entirely by a competitive standpoint, whereas Chuck feels that there must be some sort of taxation reason. Does anyone know of the tax implications to a corporation if they sign a player to a large contract after Jan. 1 vs. before?

If a baseball team were its own company, it would seem to me that the fiscal year would begin November 1st, after all baseball was played for a given year. The Cubs however are but one division of Tribune Corporation, which at the very least must have a different fiscal year, whether it coincides with the calendar year or not.

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