Interesting bit form a NYT article.... ] If the Lions hold onto Matsuzaka, they may very well wind up with nothing in return. By posting him, they will get a windfall. Precisely how much, though, may never be known. Quoting an unnamed Lions executive, the Japanese newspaper Sankei Sports reported last Friday that three unidentified major league teams had approached the executive about setting up a prearranged deal for Matsuzaka. The executive told the newspaper that he did not engage the teams in conversation because he considered it tampering. But, in theory, a team could effectively tell the Lions: �We want to get Matsuzaka. What if we bid $50 million to make sure we win his rights, and then we paid you $20 million?� The Seattle Mariners had a working agreement with the Orix Blue Wave, Ichiro Suzuki�s old team, before winning his negotiating rights with a $13 million bid in 2000. There have long been rumors that the Mariners never had to pay the full amount.