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Alex Rodriguez, the talented third baseman for the New York Yankees, is very close to surpassing the record for highest paid athlete in U.S. history. The New York Times reports the deal is a 10 year contract worth $275 million. The record A-Rod is surpassing is his own, before the 2001 season he signed a 10-year, $250 million deal with the team, before opting out and becoming a free agent.

The obscene amount of money involved in the transaction isn’t the only reason this story is big news. A-Rod negotiated his deal with the Yankees through Goldman Sachs (NYSE:GS), the largest investment banking firm in the world.

The financial institution is an advisor to governments, wealthy families and some of the world’s biggest companies. You may be asking yourself “Why’s Goldman Sachs interested in A-Rod, isn’t $275 million chump change to them?”

Well, it probably is. But $3 billion is a much nicer figure, and that’s the estimated worth of the YES Network, a regional cable sports channel that airs Yankee games. Goldman Sachs owns a sizeable chunk of the network.

For a thorough run-down read this story at CNNmoney.