THERE IS little doubt that if ownership wanted to, the Phillies could buy their way out of the current rebuilding mode and field a team that could compete for the World Series as quickly as the 2018 season.
This season, the Phillies began the new local television contract they signed with NBC Universal and Comcast SportsNet in 2014.
And while the exact figures of the deal will likely forever be clouded, the Phillies earning more than $2 billion over the next two decades is a safe guestimate.
Forbes Magazine reported the annual take from the deal would average $100 million trailing just the New York Yankees who get $191 million a year from YES Network, and the Los Angeles Dodgers ($141 million from SportsNet LA).