No the posting fee very much does not. Which is why the yankees can blow out the field on the post to make sure they get him, and then negotiate a deal that doesnt kill their cap room too much.
It's my understanding that the posting fee does not count toward the Tax. With that said, I'd be ok with AJ if I knew Sanchez was the real deal. I could then turn the focus on other needs. I don't like Salty for big money, but I would love McCann and I think he could flourish nicely with 81 games a year at Yankee Stadium.
...my bad, I left out the "not" in my previous post...it's pretty much common knowledge that posting fees are not applied to payroll...but the money posted still comes out of the same pockets.
