Is Max worth £400 million over 4 years or is this crazy money?

[John S]

According to F1 business journalist Marc Limacher, Verstappen is set to receive an annual salary of €92 (£78) million from 2027, with performance-related bonuses potentially taking his earnings to €115 (£98) million per season. Limacher claims the overall four-year agreement is worth €460 (£393) million.

The figures have not been officially confirmed by Red Bull or Verstappen, meaning they should be treated as reported contract details rather than established fact. However, the claim adds another remarkable dimension to one of the biggest driver-market stories of the year.

Limacher’s claim is particularly striking because it separates Verstappen’s reported guaranteed salary from his potential bonus earnings
Across the four seasons from 2027 through 2030, that would produce a headline value of €460 (£393) million if the maximum annual figure were reached each year. 

Whilst this is brilliant for Max is it just a a bit too much for one driver to earn more each season than probably two thirds of F1 grid driver salaries combined? 

[Jericoke]

Remember what happened to Ferrari's share price when they signed Lewis Hamilton?

My understanding is 'top' F1 teams get enough money in sponsorship to cover their entire budget.  That is to say, RBR is basically free.  Also, F1 teams are now considered assets, and while the factories and design centres do have a certain value, it's the people who provide value to the team.  If you have a driver worth half a billion dollars, then that adds value to the team, as an asset.  Since it's basically 'free' money, and the cap allows you to spend infinite money on your drivers, paying your driver a ridiculous amount of money might actually MAKE money for the owners of the team.

'Worth' it from a sporting point of view, no, he won't earn more points per dollar than Liam Lawson will in that time.  Worth it as an investment, seems to be a no brainer.

[lkjohnson1950]

Sports teams and possible championships cause people to go crazy. Jerry Colangelo came to the Arizona Diamondbacks as GM and vowed to win The World Series. He spent money freely including getting Randy Johnson and Curt Schilling and Mark Grace, expensive free agents. He got his Championship and a trip to the National League title series the next year. Then the rest of the owners booted him in favor of losing less money. The D-Backs haven't done much since. You pay to play. Judging by his teammates Max is worth about .5 seconds in qualifying, maybe more. Does that justify paying him 10X as much as Hadjar? How badly do you want to win?

[Dare]

Sports teams and possible championships cause people to go crazy. Jerry Colangelo came to the Arizona Diamondbacks as GM and vowed to win The World Series. He spent money freely including getting Randy Johnson and Curt Schilling and Mark Grace, expensive free agents. He got his Championship and a trip to the National League title series the next year. Then the rest of the owners booted him in favor of losing less money. The D-Backs haven't done much since. You pay to play. Judging by his teammates Max is worth about .5 seconds in qualifying, maybe more. Does that justify paying him 10X as much as Hadjar? How badly do you want to win?

Seems like the Yankees haven't figured out how to make that pay to play figured out yet. Judge is hurt again after a big contract and he's no spring chicken

[lkjohnson1950]

Yankees haven't been the same without Steinbrenner. Same mindset as Colangelo, you need to spend to win.

[Dare]

Yanks are getting too old and they need a new manager

[cosworth151]

The thing I liked the best about George Steinbrenner was his habit of sending some of his best players down to the minors whenever he got into a snit. That meant I could go up to Columbus to a very reasonably priced Columbus Clippers game and watch players everyone knew were future Hall of Fame members. Even on Dime-A-Dog or Quarter Slider Night!

[John S]

The thing I liked the best about George Steinbrenner was his habit of sending some of his best players down to the minors whenever he got into a snit. That meant I could go up to Columbus to a very reasonably priced Columbus Clippers game and watch players everyone knew were future Hall of Fame members. Even on Dime-A-Dog or Quarter Slider Night!

Cos, I'm sure that means a lot in the good ole USA, to most of us Brits & probably other realms it's double dutch, or worse ......... old fashioned Franglais. 

[cosworth151]

Dime-A-Dog: 10 cents for a hot dog

Quarter Slider: 25 cent White Castle burgers

Minor league baseball is famous for it's promotions. Food and drink discounts, freebie give aways like bobble head figures or miniature bats.

Probably the oldest joke on the subject: The golden rule of minor league promotions - Never, ever, have free bat night & 10 cent beer night on the same night! 

[Dare]

Dime-A-Dog: 10 cents for a hot dog

Quarter Slider: 25 cent White Castle burgers

Minor league baseball is famous for it's promotions. Food and drink discounts, freebie give aways like bobble head figures or miniature bats.

Probably the oldest joke on the subject: The golden rule of minor league promotions - Never, ever, have free bat night & 10 cent beer night on the same night! 

I remember 12 cent White Castles. I went there yesterday and ordered 4 they were $4.50.  I also remember 28 cents gas. When I was 12 I caddied 18 holes fo $1.75

[lkjohnson1950]

 
Youngster! Hamburger Inn in Mesa used to have full size burgers 5 for a dollar and gas was as low as 16 cents a gallon.

[Dare]

Youngster! Hamburger Inn in Mesa used to have full size burgers 5 for a dollar and gas was as low as 16 cents a gallon.

Do they have White Castels there are is that more a Midwest delight

[Jericoke]

Dime-A-Dog: 10 cents for a hot dog

Quarter Slider: 25 cent White Castle burgers

Minor league baseball is famous for it's promotions. Food and drink discounts, freebie give aways like bobble head figures or miniature bats.

Probably the oldest joke on the subject: The golden rule of minor league promotions - Never, ever, have free bat night & 10 cent beer night on the same night! 

The Toronto Blue Jays have 'Loonie Dog Night' for all Tuesday home games (A loonie is a Canadian dollar coin).  A dollar hot dog works out to 72 cents American, or half a pound sterling.  Last year, in one single game they sold 96,633 hot dogs.  (Seating capacity is 39,150).

The Blue Jays, in the same division as the New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox (i.e., two of the three richest teams in baseball) have discovered that they need to spend a lot of money to compete.  However, they accidentally discovered that if the Blue Jays do well (one out from winning the World Series last year, against the Los Angeles Dodgers, the third team in the top three richest teams), they make a LOT of money.  The Blue Jays are owned by Rogers, which is the largest Cable TV provider, also owning 'SportsNet', a national sports channel (like EPSN, but we actually have a different channel called TSN which is owned by ESPN, and the channel that shows F1).  Owning the Blue Jays AND the Sports channel means that Rogers was printing money last year with the most expensive ever Blue Jays pay roll.

[Dare]

When I was around 12 I lived near the stadium where the Louisville Colonels
played. They were the Red Sox's minor league team and at the start of the
7th inning they'd let us kids in free. Spent a lot of nights there.. I doubt now
it wouldn't be safe to stay out that late

[lkjohnson1950]

White Castle never really caught on in Arizona. According to Google maps there are 3 in Phoenix, a city of 5+ million. There was one in Tucson that I know of, but it's now a local deli.