The top story of the past week had nothing to do with politics, the federal government, or wars abroad. For me it was “the contract.”

As an avid life-long New York Yankees fan at first I was crushed by the Yankees failure to land and keep the young phenom baseball superstar Juan Soto. He accepted a whopping $765 million contract that with bonuses could eclipse $800 million offered by the Yankees’ crosstown rivals, the New York Mets.

The Mets won the “baseball sweepstakes.” Or did they? Only time will tell. This all sounds like sour grapes on my part. Yes, guilty as charged.

However, my readers are expecting a political opinion column — not a sports rant. Ok. Well, take just six of the top paid athletes and the face value of their contracts would be more than half the tax revenue of many states — i.e. Rhode Island, Delaware, and Idaho. I do recognize that the athletes’ contracts payout over many years, however. (Soto, with bonuses, would get over $800 million and the same for Shotei Ohtani. Patrick Mahomes would gross over $500 million; Mike Trout well over $400 million; Mookie Betts and Aaron Judge close to $400 million with bonuses).

It would be the second time I witnessed Soto leave a team soon after being one of its leaders following a World Series appearance. He won a World Series with the Washington Nationals — an uncommon occurrence — and lost a World Series with the New York Yankees, a franchise that boasted a World Series winning tradition.

It also marks a new era in sports. You do not just have players competing against each other on the field, the court, or arena. You now have billionaires competing against each other (sometimes corporations like the L.A. Dodgers) for talented athletes.

After a conversation with my son and co-host of our podcast, I do not regret “my” Yankees losing Soto. I had very short-term pain. The Yankees may be able to pick-up several future Hall of Fame players for the money they were willing to spend on just one surefire Hall of Famer.

Back in the day, my sports idols were making a very small fraction of what today’s megastars earn. A six-figure contract was a big deal for Willie Mays, Bill Russell, and Mickey Mantle.

In an ideal world, all the former sports stars and Hall of Famers still alive would receive a significant upgrade in their pensions from their respective sports, commensurate or at least acknowledging their contributions to the development and growth of their sports and the large salaries that followed. After all, it was the old-timers who paved the way, allowing the Sotos of the world to demand huge paydays.

Instead of handing over millions if not billions of dollars over time to the federal government in taxes, the top athletes could donate a part of their salaries to organizations that would help improve the plight of those who help pay their salaries indirectly. There are a host of organizations, but they need the equivalent of the “old fashioned” United Way (but not necessarily that organization) to help them find and distribute money that would help Americans, as America has been very good to them.

There should never be a Historical Black College or University (HBCU) on the verge of closing or in dire financial straits if they are being properly managed, have at least a stable student body enrollment, and decent graduation rates. If that is the case, they should not worry about funding.

There are Ivy League schools and other elite schools that could allow their entire freshmen class to attend for free, yes for free, as the interests received from their endowments, given largely by grateful alumni, could theoretically absorb their tuition expenses. No, star athletes are not truly using college as a stepping stone to the pros (if they atend at all), but they can still help those who are not gifted in sports but have other talents and ways to contribute to society.

Last year Yale University established the Gary Franks Papers as part of their Beineicke Library. In turn, I started the Gary Franks Philanthropy. At the end of this school year, GFP intends to award ten $10,000-scholarships to worthy students seeking to do graduate or professional studies.

For starters and to have the biggest impact, each grant would be awarded only to students who attended a Connecticut school, either in high school or college. In time we would do a national search for talent, as well as increase the number and amount of awards. The model would be the Rhodes Scholarship program. But this would be for those students who want to continue their studies in America.

The GFP will do other missions (see [http://www.garyfranksphilanthropy.org)]www.garyfranksphilanthropy.org) as well to help the great country that allowed not just me — with hard work and the Grace of God — but my illiterate father who worked tirelessly as a millworker and my mother to encourage and support their three daughters who all received doctorate degrees. Two of them were former professors (one taught at the University of Virginia and the other at the University of Tennessee, where she was the first Black assistant professor, followed by Temple University). They also helped a son who retired as an Army Colonel. He was one of the nation’s oldest Black retired colonels at 85. A daughter finished with a Juris Doctor and became a lawyer, and another brother was a schoolteacher and successful sports coach.

Later in life I learned that the last Black congressman in the 19th Century was a distant cousin – George White. My great grandmother was also a White from the same part of North Carolina. Nearly 90 years after his departure as a Black Republican congressman, I would enter Congress, also as a Republican.

So, as I anxiously await the next moves of “my” Yankees I hope that those talented players would use all of their gifts and resources in ways that could change America for the better and improve the lives of millions, one person at am time.

— Gary Franks served three terms as U.S. representative for Connecticut’s Fifth District

District.