Miller High Life Offers To Pay Fan's Taxes For Yankees Gifts

Miller High Life has "offered to cover the bill" for Christian Lopez' taxes on the roughly $60,000 he will receive from the Yankees in tickets and signed balls and jerseys. The tax liability "could be more than $10,000" for Lopez, who caught Derek Jeter's 3,000th hit on Saturday. The beer brand, which recently had a campaign to "make its beer the official beer of fans," has also offered to throw a party for Lopez with free beer. MillerCoors competitor Anheuser-Busch is the official beer sponsor of both MLB and the Yankees (CNBC.com, 7/13).

Meanwhile, Modell's Sporting Goods today announced that 5% of its Yankees merchandise sales from July 13-19 will be donated to Lopez to "help pay the taxes and other student loans he's accrued" (ESPNNEWYORK.com, 7/13). Bloomberg Sports’ Michele Steele reported Modell’s CEO Mitch Modell also gave Lopez his '09 World Series ring (TWITTER.com, 7/13).