Let me explain. An ongoing problem in baseball (and some other popular sports) is that some teams are "richer" (in both money and talent) than other teams. This can be a result of the deep pockets of one team owner vs. another, but the bigger factor is media market size. A team that plays in, say, New York or Los Angeles gets a lot more revenue from its TV/radio rights than a team from a smaller market such as Milwaukee or Kansas City. In baseball, this revenue is not shared - each team gets to keep its own revenue - so teams in bigger markets tend to have bigger payrolls and (often but not always) better players. As the salary demands of top players have gone up, the smaller market teams have been placed at an even greater disadvantage. (The New York Yankees, for example, have a total player payroll that is probably three times larger than the Milwaukee Brewers!) So the league as a whole, and small-market team owners in particular, would like to keep salaries under control in order to maintain parity across teams. When a marquis player like Griffey becomes available on the open market, there is the concern that his new contract will set a precedent driving the payscale even higher into the financial stratosphere. .
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Who are the key players in the negotiation? The negotiations between teams over the rights to Griffey involve several players, and it is helpful as you read the case itself to keep them clear in your mind. Here's a guide: .
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For Griffey himself: .
Brian Goldberg is Griffey's agent, who negotiates on his behalf.
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For the Seattle Mariners (Griffey's current team): .
Pat Gillick is the team's General Manager and the person primarily responsible for handling the negotiations to make a deal to trade Griffey to another team. .
Chuck Armstrong is the team's President, and Gillick's boss. .
Roger Jongewaard is the team's Vice President, who gets involved briefly. .
Howard Lincoln is the team's CEO.