The Yankees payroll obviously has a lot to do with their (modern) success, but they haven't always had exponentially more money to burn than everyone else, and they won an awful lot of championships during that time period. Many players actually come to the Yankees and take lower pay just because they want to play for the Yankees as well, for example Mark Teixeira. Sure, they have the highest payroll, but they also have the classiest and most well organized front office that gets things done. They have the highest payroll because they win so fucking much, and they win so fucking much now because they have the highest payroll. ENDLESS CIRCLE OF DEATH.