Surging loonie is hurting Toronto athletes’ wallets—but Blue Jays’ Bautista pays it no mind

With the value of the Canadian dollar hitting new heights, Toronto athletes that chose to be paid out in the U.S. greenback in recent contract negotiations may be feeling a bit of exchange-rate remorse. Most major sports deals are done with the proviso that the player can choose their preferred currency, and this summer, Toronto Blue Jays’ Jose Bautista asked for his $8-million salary in dollars, not loonies—meaning he stands to lose a significant chunk of change over the course of the year. But whether he’s getting paid in Canadian coin, Swiss francs or U.S. tender, it doesn’t seem to matter to the sweet-swinging slugger—right now, he’s cashing in for the Jays.

From Toronto Sun columnist Bob Elliott:

Take Jose Bautista, who will earn $8 million U.S. this season…

If he were earning Canadian funds, using the Bank of Canada’s rate as of noon Wednesday ($1 Cdn = $1.0436 U.S.), he would be paid $8,348,800 Cdn: a difference of $348,800.

Of course, no matter how much money you’re making, losing six figures of potential income is no laughing matter. Still, Blue Jays general manager Alex Anthopolous must be chuckling all the way to the bank after the wunderkind exec got slammed for giving big money to a player who had only a single year of success under his belt (we didn’t, mind you). But Bautista’s numbers speak for themselves: he clubbed three homers in yesterday’s 11-3 rout of the Minnesota Twins, bringing his major league leading total to 16. He also currently holds the top position in the American League with a sizzling .368 batting average.

Now, if only he had a decent changeup.

• Jays wishing they signed for Canadian coin? [Toronto Sun]
• Jays’ Bautista keeping up last year’s form, so far [Toronto Star]
• Bautista looks to continue surge [Sportsnet]