Articles from:April 2025

• Blue Jays’ $500M bet on Guerrero Jr. highlights shifting landscape in pro sport negotiations, says Brock expert

  Monday, April 07, 2025 | By Brock University

  EXPERT ADVISORY – April 7, 2025 – R0046

  The Toronto Blue Jays’ record-setting $500-million contract extension with Vladimir Guerrero Jr. has made waves across the sporting world, marking a pivotal shift in how professional teams approach long-term investment in star athletes, says a Brock University expert.

  Assistant Professor of Sport Management Ryan Clutterbuck, who researches and teaches negotiations, organizational behaviour and leadership in sport, says the 14-year deal reflects a broader trend in sport business emphasizing player retention, brand building and context-specific returns on investment.

  “In giving Guerrero the largest contract in Canadian sports history, the Blue Jays are betting big on future on-field performance, personality, marketability and on Guerrero Jr.’s unique value to Blue Jays fans,” Clutterbuck says. “It’s a signal of a franchise that believes in building stability and identity around this particular star.”

  In Brock’s Department of Sport Management, Clutterbuck teaches negotiation concepts through role-play simulations that demand students adopt the mindset of both parties involved in high-stakes negotiations, such as Guerrero and Blue Jays President Mark Shapiro.

  “We challenge our students to consider their negotiation counterpart’s perspective to resolve conflicts and create value for both sides,” Clutterbuck says. “The critical test is ‘can you write the other side’s victory speech for them?’ Because for a negotiation to succeed over the long term, it’s important that everyone walks away from the deal feeling like they’ve won.”

  Guerrero’s contract stands as the second richest in MLB history when measured by present value, thanks to the absence of deferred payments. Only Juan Soto’s 15-year, $765-million agreement with the New York Mets ranks higher. While Shohei Ohtani’s headline-grabbing 10-year, $700-million deal with the Los Angeles Dodgers appears larger on paper, significant deferrals reduce its present-day value to $460.8 million.

  For the Blue Jays, the deal is justifiable not only because of what Guerrero has already accomplished, but for what he represents: the face of the franchise, a fan favourite and a player whose prime years are still ahead of him, Clutterbuck says.

  The move showcases how MLB franchises like the Blue Jays, Mets and Dodgers view negotiations as a blend of financial planning, storytelling and cultural impact, he adds.

  “This signing is not just about home runs, wins-above-replacement stats or other objective criteria,” Clutterbuck says. “For the Blue Jays, it’s about locking in their homegrown face of the franchise that fans can grow with. A generational talent with charisma, heritage and the potential to cement the Blue Jays as competitive. Negotiations at this level reflect a deeper calculus. Teams are not just acquiring talent. They’re investing in a vision.”

  Ryan Clutterbuck, Brock University Assistant Professor of Sport Management, is available for media interviews on this topic.

  For more information or for assistance arranging interviews:

  *Maryanne St. Denis, Manager, Content and Communications, Brock University, [email protected] or 905-246-0256

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  Categories: Media releases

• Tariffs could unstitch fast fashion and prompt buy-in for sustainable purchasing, says Brock expert

  Thursday, April 03, 2025 | By Brock University

  EXPERT ADVISORY – April 3, 2025 – R0045

  As Canadians continue swapping American-made goods for local alternatives, Jennifer Ellen (Jenellen) Good says the time may be right for conversations to shift from what is being consumed — to how much.  

  “We’re living in fraught times and in amongst the chaos, it seems like an opportunity to think differently about the stories we tell about consumerism and our planet,” she says. “Sure, let’s buy Canadian, but what about also buying less?”

  The Brock University Associate Professor of Communication, Popular Culture and Film studies stories told about the environment and how those stories relate to the relationship between people and the Earth. For example, she has researched the intersection of fast fashion — the rapid production and distribution of inexpensive clothing that mirrors fashion trends — and sustainability.

  “Our collective story is consumption; it is the meta-story that we receive from our screens,” she says. “There are opportunities right now, a silver lining perhaps, for us to have a more nuanced story about the implications of what we’re consuming, including the effect on climate.”

  The language of economics, she says, has traditionally revolved around growth — buying and selling at breakneck speed, even if that comes at the expense of people and the planet.

  “We’re not encouraged to think critically about consumption because it quickly becomes a false ‘jobs versus the environment’ narrative,” she says. “We also don’t tend to have economic discussions about topics like fast fashion and climate, but these tariffs are forcing us to have those conversations.”

  Tariffs are driving consumers to think more critically about the goods they are purchasing, such as seeking out the country of origin and opting to purchase, or not, based on what they find.

  A recent report from the Bank of Canada also showed that trade tensions and uncertainty in global markets is impacting consumer confidence — causing buyers to be more cautious with their discretionary spending, as a result.

  “Maybe this will be the moment when we start to question and rethink the role of such vast quantities of consumption,” Good says. “More broadly, maybe it’s this economic opportunity to challenge the foundations on which fast fashion and our rampant consumerism, more generally, have been built.”

  A big part of the appeal of fast fashion imports is the lower price tag these products offer as compared to locally produced alternatives. This may be the time to instead purchase fewer, more expensive, made-in-Canada options, Good says.

  As conversations around consumerism continue to evolve, Good also says media and digital literacy are powerful tools that can be embraced to reflect on and take action toward a more sustainable future.

  “When they are given the opportunity, people, perhaps especially young people, are extremely thoughtful about environmental issues and the climate crisis; it’s a question of how to foster that thoughtfulness,” she says. “This moment — that has everyone thinking about tariffs and economics — is a huge opportunity. Let’s encourage the sharing of stories that challenge the status quo, stories highlighting that it’s time for positive change.”

  Jennifer Ellen (Jenellen) Good, Associate Professor of Communication, Popular Culture and Film at Brock University, is available for media interviews on this topic.

   

  For more information or for assistance arranging interviews: 

  *Sarah Ackles, Communications Specialist, Brock University [email protected] or 289-241-5483

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  Categories: Media releases