Watch CBS News

Report: Henry Spent $169 Million More On Liverpool Than Red Sox This Year

BOSTON (CBS) -- The Red Sox and general manager Ben Cherington's insistence that the team is on a budget has understandably rubbed some fans the wrong way. With Fenway Park having the most expensive tickets in baseball and with owner John Henry having seemingly endlessly deep pockets, the concept just does not make sense on the surface.

A new report by CBS Sports' Jon Heyman may explain the sudden change in spending philosophy.

Heyman calculates that all of the Red Sox' minor deals this offseason cost the team about $10 million. By contrast, Henry has spent $169 million on Liverpool, the English football club which he purchased in late 2010.

"Henry's outlay of loot for his Liverpool soccer team was $179 million this year, or about 20 times what he spent on the Red Sox," Heyman wrote. "Forward Andy Carroll got 35 million pounds ($54.7 million), forward Luis Suarez got 23 million pounds ($35.9 million), midfielder Stewart Downing 20 million pounds ($31.2 million), midfielder Jordan Henderson 16 million pounds ($25 million), midfielder Charlie Adam 7.5 million pounds ($11.7 million), defenseman Sebastian Coates seven million pounds ($10.9 million) and defenseman Jose Enrique got 6.3 million pounds ($9.8 million)."

For some contrast, Heyman explains that the Red Sox traded Marco Scutaro for Clay Mortenson to save $6 million, content to let Mike Aviles and Nick Punto battle it out for the shortstop position. After dropping millions on Adrian Gonzalez and Carl Crawford last winter, the team has taken a much more conservative approach to filling out the roster for 2012.

When Henry talked with Felger and Massarotti in October, he said his business interests with the Red Sox and Liverpool did not get in the way of each other.

View CBS News In
CBS News App Open
Chrome Safari Continue
Be the first to know
Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting.