DEAR SUN SPOTS: Here I am again with another baseball problem. Do you suppose you can find out for me why, when we have 15 of our own baseball teams playing every day, our baseball station, MLB on Channel 789 shows all these foreign teams playing instead of our own teams?

Even our Red Sox station NESN doesn’t show many games. Why can’t it show us more games now in spring training and during the regular season?

Thanks for all of your good work for all of us. We sure do appreciate you. — C.H., Rumford

ANSWER: The answer can be summed up in one word: money.  The foreign games that were on recently as part of the World Baseball Classic were a big money-maker for the MLB. In Japan one contest drew more viewers than an Olympics. 

Another reason for showing foreign games, Sun Spots’ editor informs her, is for drawing more people in more countries to watch and play baseball, thus increasing the league’s reach.

Now that the classic is over, you should see more American baseball.

As for the NESN cutback on Red Sox games, the Sun Journal sports editor said it is partly due to the hockey strike and subsequent compressed season for the Bruins, but the sports experts in the newsroom agree NESN is showing fewer games. If you want to see more Red Sox, write to NESN: 480 Arsenal St., Building No.1, Watertown, MA 02472.

As L.G. points out in the next question, professional athletes make a lot of money. Even if teams fill the stadium for each game, it wouldn’t be enough to pay players, owners, coaches and promoters. The really big money is in television rights, which are sold to the highest bidder.

Part of the reason sports on TV are so profitable is that while many people avoid commercials on their favorite prime time programs by recording shows on their DVRs and skipping commercials, sports’ fans don’t want to wait to watch. This means the commercials on games and matches often actually get seen and networks can charge higher ad rates.

Sun Spots went to Wikipedia (http://tinyurl.com/cy8sb7k) for some details on just how much baseball broadcast rights are worth:

“On Aug. 28, it was announced that ESPN and Major League Baseball had agreed on a new eight-year deal that greatly increases the network’s studio and game content across all of its platforms. ESPN also will return to broadcasting postseason baseball beginning in 2014 with one of two wild-card games each season. The network will alternate airing the American League and National League wild-card games each year. It also will have the rights to all potential regular-season tiebreaker games starting in 2014.

“On Sept. 19, Sports Business Daily reported that MLB would agree to separate eight-year television deals with Fox Sports and Turner Sports through the 2021 season. Fox would reportedly pay around $4 billion over eight years while Turner would pay around $2.8 billion over eight years. Under the new deals … Fox would carry some of the games (such as the Saturday afternoon Game of the Week) on its planned all-sports channel, Fox Sports 1… .. Sources also said that it was possible that Fox would sell some League Division Series games to MLB Network. [MLB] airs Thursday night games (and simulcasts games on Saturdays and other days from RSN feeds) and a daily highlight show.”

As you can see from the above, the deals are all very complicated.

DEAR SUN SPOTS: I don’t think the list of the top 10 highest paid football players you published March 4 in response to my question about professional football players’ salaries was correct. Tom Brady makes $18 million a year and Drew Brees makes $20 million. — L.G., Lewiston

ANSWER: Actually, Tom Brady has proven to be somewhat lacking in greed. He even renegotiated how he was paid to allow the Patriots more flexibility in hiring other players. According to several websites, he made just under $8 million in 2012, putting him 81st in the salary list.

Number 10 in the list of players Sun Spots provided March 4 made $13.3 million.

As for Drew Brees, his salary is listed as $10.4 million. 

Plenty of websites offer salary details, but Sun Spots thought http://football.player-salaries.com/ was the easiest to navigate.

Note that Sun Spots provided 2012 salaries. Salary negotiations for 2013 and beyond are often in the news, so the numbers will be changing and may approach the figures L.G. stated. The 2013 list will undoubtedly be different, as salaries continue to spiral upward.

This column is for you, our readers. It is for your questions and comments. There are only two rules: You must write to the column and sign your name (we won’t use it if you ask us not to). Please include your phone number. Letters will not be returned or answered by mail, and telephone calls will not be accepted. Your letters will appear as quickly as space allows. Address them to Sun Spots, P.O. Box 4400, Lewiston, ME 04243-4400. Inquiries can also be emailed to sunspots@sunjournal.com.

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