LOOK: New York tabloid expects big things from the Yankees thanks to the new CBA

Manny Machado and Bryce Harper in pinstripes? One day, perhaps

By Mike Axisa

Dec 3, 2016 at 1:16 pm ET • 1 min read

Earlier this week, MLB and the MLBPA hammered out the new collective bargaining agreement, which covers the 2017-21 seasons. The new CBA is a win for the owners, who get a hard cap on international spending and also stiff luxury tax penalties, which figure to slow down payroll inflation.

As part of the new CBA, the Performance Factor component of the revenue sharing system was eliminated. That's a pretty big deal. Here's a really quick primer on how the revenue sharing system works:

Basic Pool: Each team puts 34 percent of their net revenue into the pot, which is then paid out equally to the 30 clubs. Big-market teams lose money, small-market teams gain money.
Supplemental Pool: This pool is based on market size as determined by the Performance Factor. Big-market teams contribute more to the pool than small-market teams.

That supplemental pool is gone now. The Yankees, who operate in baseball's biggest market and generate more revenue than every other team, were hit hardest by the Performance Factor each year. Now, instead of contributing tens of millions into the supplemental pool, they get to keep that money. Like I said, it's a pretty big deal.

Needless to say, the elimination of the performance factor gives the Yankees even more of an opportunity to spend big on free agency. There's not much to spend on this offseason, but down the line? Oh boy.

The New York Daily News is already planning accordingly. Check out Friday's back page:

Yep, that's rookie sensation Gary Sanchez alongside Bryce Harper and Manny Machado, who have been Photoshopped into Yankee pinstripes. Harper and Machado are both scheduled to become free agents during the 2018-19 offseason, after the Yankees spend a few years banking Performance Factor money.

Of course, spending big on free agents like Harper and Machado -- what are the odds one of them becomes the first $400 million player in baseball history? Pretty good, I'd say -- means the Yankees will be hit hard by the luxury tax. The tax rate goes all the way up to 95 percent under certain circumstances, the kind of circumstances that get met when you sign guys like Harper and Machado.