Rob Manfred Said MLB Owners Could Lose $4 Billion Without a Season

MLB commissioner Rob Manfred appeared on Anderson Cooper's CNN show on Thursday night. Manfred talked about the potential economic impact of a canceled baseball season and said that owners stand to lose around $4 billion. Assuming all that money would be going not into the owners' pockets, but to club employees and the surrounding communities, that's a devastating figure.

Having said that ... in the big picture, is $4 billion really that much? The federal government could cover that in a heartbeat. Plus, divided by 30 teams that's only $133.3 million per franchise. Gerritt Cole is due to make $36 million in 2020. Bryce Harper currently has a deal with $330 million. I know that's spread out over 13 years, but it kind of shrinks the enormity of that $4 billion number.

Another interesting part of this clip is that Manfred revealed that the commissioners of the major North American sports are in constant contact, discussing different options as their various sports look to reopen. If leagues are willing to help each other, it can only be good. Once one league figures it out, others will probably be able to follow. After all, more hands make less work.