Hal Steinbrenner: Yankees' Payroll Levels Are 'Not Sustainable' amid Juan Soto Rumors

New York Yankees managing general partner Hal Steinbrenner said the team's current payroll is "simply not sustainable" moving forward.

"I'm gonna be honest, payrolls at the levels we're at right now are simply not sustainable for us financially," Steinbrenner said at the league owners' meetings, per Dan Martin of the New York Post. "It wouldn't be sustainable for the vast majority of ownership [groups], given the luxury tax we have to pay.''

Per Scott Boeck of USA Today, the Yankees' payroll on April 3 was $303 million, the second-highest figure in MLB.

The elephant in the room here is the future status of New York Yankees superstar outfielder Juan Soto, an impending free agent making $31 million this year. The 25-year-old Soto is hitting .309 (.947 OPS) with 11 home runs and 37 RBI and is bound to strike it very rich next offseason, whether it's in the Bronx or elsewhere.

Steinbrenner didn't necessarily throw cold water at the idea of re-signing Soto, though, noting the money coming off the books in 2025.

"We've got a considerable amount of money coming off [next offseason],'' Steinbrenner said. "We didn't have a considerable amount of money coming off last offseason, which is why we're at where we're at."

Per Cot's Contracts, notable contracts coming off the books include those of Gleyber Torres ($14.2 million), Alex Verdugo ($8.7 million), Clay Holmes ($6 million) and Tommy Kahnle ($5.75 million). It's certainly possible players in that group re-sign with the team, though.

Ultimately, Soto is going to command a ton of money. He notably rejected a 15-year, $440 million deal with the Washington Nationals in 2022, so one can assume that he'll be getting more money than that given his tremendous season thus far.

But what's clear is that Steinbrenner doesn't want his team to have a payroll in the neighborhood of $300 million long-term.

"I've been a broken record [on this topic]: I don't believe I should have a $300 million payroll to win a championship,'' Steinbrenner said. "I believe I need a good mix of veterans, who are gonna make a lot more money, but, also, we've put a lot of money into our player development system in the last 5-10 years. And in my opinion, we have one of the better ones in baseball now."

Both Soto and the Yanks have said they're open to extension talks, although it seems unlikely that anything would come to fruition before free agency, where he can potentially make more money from another team. Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic and Fox Sports noted on Foul Territory that an extension is "not going to happen."

But for now, Soto remains a Yankee as the first-place Bronx Bombers look for their first World Series in 15 years.