You can't open up a sports section or read a sports blog without being bombarded by story after story about Manny Ramirez's tumultuous contract negotiations with the Dodgers. The whole affair has an air of melodrama, punctuated with more bitter recriminations, wounded egos and thinly veiled threats than a Middle East peace conference.
But from my perch, what is most fascinating is the astoundingly public nature of the negotiations, with the most intricate financial details all out in the open. The Dodgers have offered Ramirez a two-year, $45-million deal with an opt-out clause that Ramirez could exercise at the end of the first year. Scott Boras, Ramirez's agent, has rejected the Dodgers' proposal, largely on the grounds that a big chunk of the salary was deferred, with most of the payments being spread out over five years, beginning with a $10-million payment this season.
This is decidedly not the way negotiations work in Hollywood. With rare exception, they are conducted totally in private and veiled in secrecy, with most actor salary details filtering out to the showbiz press long after the deal is done and often long after the film has concluded shooting. Sports fans all know how much Kobe Bryant makes with the Lakers or, for that matter, how much David Beckham earned with the Galaxy. But in Hollywood, star salaries are rarely matters of household fascination. For all the insider talk about movie box office and Oscar campaigns, the average fan has little knowledge -- and even more important, little interest -- in how much Ben Stiller will get for "Night at the Museum 2" this summer.
Last week, for example, Sony announced it would make "The B Team," an action comedy that would star Will Ferrell and Mark Wahlberg as cops woefully unprepared for real action. Variety, the leading showbiz trade paper, made the announcement of the deal. But there was no mention of any film budget or star salaries, much less any of the Sturm und Drang that occurred during the negotiations, which involved a number of other studios. If it had been Boras up against Dodgers owner Frank McCourt, we would've been treated to a daily string of breathless stories, recounting the ups and downs of the negotiations, with headlines like "Will Ferrell 'B-Team' Deal Goes Sour: Sony's Amy Pascal Rejects Latest Offer From Endeavor's Ari Emanuel."
