Tampa Bay Rays getting closer to new television deal

The Tampa Bay Rays may be getting a cash injection soon, as a new television deal appears to be on the horizon.

Seemingly every year, the Tampa Bay Rays have a star or three on the block due to salary concerns. Due to their limited financial resources, the Rays rarely keep their top talent, trading them when they begin to get paid via arbitration, or when the team friendly extension begin to cost too much.

However, those days may be coming to an end soon. The Rays are reportedly close to a long term deal with Fox SportsNet, which would pay an average of $82 million over the next 15 years. This would be a substantial increase over their current deal, which is paying $35 million in its final year.

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Of course, there are still hurdles that need to be overcome before the deal happens. One of those issues is that Fox is set to sell Fox Sports RSN to Disney, meaning that any new deals would need to be approved by them as well. And the sale of the network would need to be approved by regulators. However, the Rays and representatives from Fox are planning on meeting next month to hammer out those details.

Despite the Rays attendance issues, they have done reasonably well in the ratings. The Rays ranked 18th in television ratings last year, which was actually a drop from 2016. Those attendance issues may well be a byproduct of Tropicana Field after all.

With the potential new television deal, as well as the beginning steps towards a new stadium, the Rays may be able to begin to change their frugal ways. The Rays may even be able to put together a viable core to make their entrance into the new stadium all the more exciting, with a young group of players that would hopefully develop into a playoff team.

Next: Rays interested in Jose Bautista

There is still a long way to go, but the Tampa Bay Rays may finally be getting a cash injection. It will be interesting to see how that impacts their future plans.