New York Yankees owner Hal Steinbrenner already stirred up a storm earlier this week when he admitted that lowering payroll would be “ideal.” Now, Mike Francesa has taken that spark and turned it into a full-blown bonfire.
On his latest podcast, the Hall of Fame radio voice unloaded on Steinbrenner’s remarks, calling them not just misguided—but an outright invitation for the fan base, the media, and the entire sport to question what the Yankees are really doing behind the curtain.
And after the week Steinbrenner had, Francesa didn’t hold back.
Francesa: “What Was Hal Thinking?”
Francesa opened with disbelief. The idea that the owner of baseball’s most iconic franchise would publicly admit he wants payroll down—while brushing off the notion that the Yankees made a profit during a season with $700 million in revenue—set Francesa off immediately.
“What was Hal thinking? I am shocked,” he said. That wasn’t hyperbole. To Francesa, Steinbrenner didn’t just misspeak—he broke an unwritten rule every owner lives by.
“Owners would rather jump out of a building than let anyone audit their books,” Francesa said. “They will never let anybody near them.”
And that’s where Francesa insisted Steinbrenner “opened Pandora’s box.” By complaining about payroll and downplaying revenue, Steinbrenner all but invited the question: If you’re not making money, prove it. As Francesa put it, “Donkeys will fly before anyone sees the Yankees’ books.”
The rant didn’t stop there. Francesa brought up the Yankees’ complex web of holding companies, including Yankee Global Enterprises, YES Network, Legends Hospitality, NYCFC, and AC Milan. He accused Steinbrenner of hiding revenue and scoffed at the claim that the team isn’t “tripping over money.”
For a franchise worth $8–9 billion, Francesa said the idea that they’re suffering financially is “an absolute joke.”
A Tone-Deaf Moment in a Critical Offseason
Francesa’s frustration echoes something Yankees fans—and this writer—have pointed out all week: this timing could not be worse.
The Yankees haven’t won a World Series in 16 years. They were bounced aside easily by Toronto and watched the Dodgers lap the sport. They have a roster with holes everywhere, from the outfield to the bullpen. And their first major message of the offseason was… we’d like to spend less.
Francesa went even further, saying the Dodgers “have made the Yankees look like an A-Ball outfit.” It’s hard to argue. Los Angeles leaned all the way in, spent heavily, developed well, and stacked depth upon depth. The Yankees, meanwhile, cut corners, chased margins, and now call playoff berths “success” because the stadium stays full.
Francesa flatly said George Steinbrenner would’ve “never allowed” this kind of small-market rhetoric to leave the owner’s mouth.
Steinbrenner’s stance on a potential salary cap only made the optics worse. He suggested he might support one if paired with a “reasonable salary floor,” a statement that baffled fans who remember when the Yankees used their financial muscle as a weapon—not a burden.
The Yankees need an outfielder. They need bullpen arms. They need impact, not austerity. They’re already at $278 million before adding anyone of significance. And whether he meant to or not, Steinbrenner has shifted the entire conversation from winning to spending.
Francesa said aloud what fans have been thinking since Steinbrenner spoke:
If the Yankees are serious about ending a 16-year drought, the last thing the owner should be talking about is saving money.
Because once Hal opened Pandora’s box, there was no closing it.
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