Regarding Pujols -- zero HRs and .217 average, dare I say...
The goal from a personal, amoral business standpoint is to sign that ultimate colossal long term $240M contract that takes you through the end of your career... after signing there is little (external) incentive to do whatever it took to get there...
That would include continuing designer HGH, if those rumors were true.
Just pondering the eye-opening batting decline, we shall see if it continues. There will be speculation.
He would have no risk:reward to take the health risks at this point. It's not like he would tell the GM during contract negotiations. They paid the supra price based on past performance... We all know how that can work out in marketplaces.
...
Albert Pujols' contract completed
Updated: January 5, 2012, 10:53 PM ET
ESPN.com news services
NEW YORK -- Guess $240 million wasn't quite enough for Albert Pujols. In addition to his salary, the Los Angeles Angels are giving the slugger four season tickets to home games over the next decade.
He and the Angels still need to work out the location of the seats, which are his to enjoy for the duration of his contract. After that, if he still wants them, he has to pay.
That's A Lot Of Angel Cake  A breakdown of Albert Pujols' 10-year guaranteed contract with the Angels, with additional provisions:
Salary
2012: $12 million; 2013: $16 million
2014: $23 million; 2015: $24 million
2016: $25 million; 2017: $26 million
2018: $27 million; 2019: $28 million
2020: $29 million; 2021: $30 million
Personal services agreement
Sides agree that after the expiration of the contract or Pujols' retirement as a player, they will enter into a 10-year personal services relationship and Pujols will be paid $1 million annually.
Milestone accomplishments
The sides agree they will enter into a separate marketing agreement in which Pujols will be paid for the promotion and marketing of specified milestone accomplishments. Among them are a $3 million payment for 3,000 hits and a $7 million payment for 763 home runs.
Award Bonuses
Most Valuable Player: $500,000
MVP second or third place: $75,000
Gold Glove: $75,000
Silver Slugger: $75,000
All-Star election or selection: $50,000
World Series MVP: $100,000
ALCS MVP: $75,000
Those details were contained in the terms of his deal that was filed Thursday with Major League Baseball and the players' association.
Other perks include:
• A hotel suite on road trips.
• A luxury suite at the ballpark for the Pujols Foundation, his charitable group, for 10 home games a year.
• The right to buy a luxury suite between first base and third base for all home games.
Los Angeles' offer to Pujols surpassed St. Louis' offer by more than $40 million. Pujols played his first 11 seasons with the Cardinals.
The Angels' deal was so complicated that it includes three separate agreements: His playing contract, a marketing deal and an agreement to enter a 10-year, personal-services agreement following the playing contract's expiration or Pujols' retirement, whichever is later. That will pay $1 million annually, but because it is contingent on Pujols actually working for the team, it is not considered guaranteed money for the purposes of baseball's luxury tax.
High-payroll teams such as the New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox are likely to examine that structure closely and may emulate it in future agreements.
There also is a marketing agreement that will pay Pujols for milestone accomplishments. The player will receive $3 million for 3,000 hits and $7 million for a record 763rd home run. He currently has 2,073 hits and 445 home runs.
Including all three agreements, Pujols could make up to $268.75 million over 20 years. That includes $875,000 in possible award bonuses each year for accomplishments such as Most Valuable Player, World Series and League Championship Series MVP, Gold Glove and Silver Slugger, and making the All-Star team.
Like C.J. Wilson's $77.5 million, five-year contract, which also was agreed to Dec. 8, Pujols' deal is heavily backloaded. His 2012 salary will be $12 million, down from the $16 million he made last year in the option year of his contract with the St. Louis Cardinals.
Pujols' salary increases to $16 million in 2013 and $23 million in 2014, then rises $1 million annually until he makes $30 million in 2021, when he will be 41.
It is only the third $200 million contract in baseball history, behind Alex Rodriguez's $252 million deal with Texas after the 2000 season and A-Rod's $275 million agreement with the Yankees after the 2007 season.
Pujols' average salary matches that of Philadelphia pitcher Cliff Lee for the third highest among current players behind Rodriguez and Phillies first baseman Ryan Howard ($25 million).
At the time Pujols was introduced by the Angels in early December, team owner Arte Moreno told reporters, "We just wanted to keep our hands in the cookie jar, but I didn't want it to be a situation where I was disrespectful to the Cardinals in trying to run up the price."
Information from The Associated Press was included in this report.
. |
