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Why stars like Cano, Pujols are worth $240M -- and maybe more

The Mariners don't expect Robinson Cano to be worth $30 million at age 40, but he doesn't have to be either for the contract to be a smart investment.

The Mariners don't expect Robinson Cano to be worth $30 million at age 40, but he doesn't have to be either for the contract to be a smart investment.

It's a whole new ballgame today. Pujols and Cano can sign contracts that outlast their expected impact on the field because there is that much money in the game today and that much money expected to keep rolling in tomorrow. Whether baseball is that smart or that serendipitous, we live in an age in which technology has made live content the most valuable property for an entertainment-hungry American audience. And baseball, with its 2,430 games every year, is the king of all sports when it comes to an inventory of live content. If baseball builds upon this live content by continuing to scale up internationally -- that's why we have the World Baseball Classic and 4 a.m. games in Australia -- revenues may grow even faster than doubling every 10 years the way it has for the past two decades.