01:00 AM EST on Sunday, December 4, 2005

Despite drawing more than four million fans, the Yankees lost between $50 million and $85 million for the 2005 season, several Major League Baseball sources told the New York Daily News. The benefactors of baseball, who pumped more than $200 million into their payroll and almost $110 million into revenue sharing and luxury tax, are deep in the red this year.

"Yes, even George has his limits," one source said. And it may get worse.

According to lawyers close to the situation, the Yankees might have to share additional revenue with poorer clubs if a consultant hired by MLB decides they undervalued their television rights. The Yankees currently charge the YES Network about $60 million a year to broadcast games, but the consultant is expected to say the rights are worth far more. If he does, that will mean the Yankees will be required to make up the difference and put more money into the revenue-sharing fund.

The Yankees and the YES Network might appear to be one and the same, but the ownership of each is constructed differently and they are required by baseball to operate as two separate entities.

"They're going to owe us money," one MLB source predicted.

The extent of the Yankee losses won't be clear for months, after they finish the complicated task of analyzing revenues for their major- and minor-league operations and file their financial statements with the commissioner's office. Several sources said they believe the final figure will be roughly $80 million when all is tallied.

Although the Yankees lost $50 million to $85 million in the 2005 season, it doesn't mean Steinbrenner and his YES partners lost money.

The Yankees had overall revenues of roughly $335 million last season (including the $60 million from YES), but after their $200 million payroll in addition to operating costs, they will pay $75 million in revenue sharing and $33 million in luxury tax, which is based on 40 percent of payroll over $128 million. (The Yankees would have paid a lower tax rate, but because they were over the luxury tax threshold for the third straight year they were required to pay 40 percent.)

The size of the Yankee losses, and GM Brian Cashman's announcement that the team is going to cut payroll, is rife with significance for the entire game.

This is what commissioner Bud Selig and owners (other than the Yankees') had in mind when they pushed for revenue sharing and a luxury tax in the current basic labor agreement. The Yanks' payroll is already down to around $160 million, and it is expected to end up in the $180 million-$185 million range.

ROUNDUP AGREEMENT CLOSE: Major League Baseball is close to a tentative agreement with the District of Columbia that would clear the way for a new stadium for the Washington Nationals and the long-awaited sale of the team. D.C. Council Chair Linda W. Cropp said yesterday on WRC-TV that a deal had been reached, with baseball agreeing to contribute $20 million to a contingency fund and guarantee rent payments. However, a spokesman for Mayor Anthony A. Williams said talks between D.C. officials and baseball are continuing this weekend in Washington. "We're just not there yet. There are some people who feel a little more confident . . .," spokesman Vince Morris said. "I'd rather have it in hand before I claim that we've got a deal."

IT'S OFFICIAL: Right-hander Tom Gordon, 38, passed his physical and officially joined the Philadelphia Phillies, where he will replace Billy Wagner as the closer. Gordon gets $4.5 million next year, $7 million in 2007 and $5.5 million in 2008. Philadelphia has a 2009 option for $4.5 million with a $1-million buyout. An All-Star in 1998 and 2004, Gordon went 5-4 with two saves and a 2.57 E.R.A. in 79 games as a setup man for Mariano Rivera with the Yankees last season. Gordon held opponents to a .203 average, allowing only 59 hits in 80 2/3 innings.

ASTROS SIGN RELIEVER: The Houston Astros signed veteran right-handed pitcher Russ Springer to a one-year, $750,000 contract yesterday. Springer, who signed a minor-league contract with the team in 2004, was 4-4 with a 4.73 E.R.A. after being called up in August. He had a 3.38 E.R.A. in five relief appearances during the playoffs for the N.L. champions. Springer, who made his major league debut in 1992 with the New York Yankees, has a career record of 24-38 with a 5.08 E.R.A.