Vladimir Guerrero Re-signs on a Massive Contract
It’s no secret that Vlad Jr. re-signed on a humongous contract with the Blue Jays, but today we’ll be going over it in detail because there’s a few things that have been done so that the contract has less of a tax hit. Get your calculator out because you're gonna need it.
CONTRACT:
Years: 14
$: $500 million
THE DEAL CONTAINS:
1. A full no-trade clause
2. A 35.71 AAV (average annual value of contract)
3. Some incentives ($150,000 for MVP ($125,000 for second, $100,000 for third). $50,000 for All-Star, $50,000 for Gold Glove, $50,000 for Silver Slugger, $50,000 for World Series MVP and $25,000 for ALCS MVP)
THE DEAL DOES NOT CONTAIN:
1. Any deferred money
2. Any opt-outs
3. Any player/club/mutual options
2026: $17 million
2027: $17 million
2028: $16 million
2029: $15 million
2030: $14.5 million
2031: $14.5 million
2032: $14.5 million
2033: $12.5 million
2034: $12.5 million
2035: $11.5 million
2036: $10.5 million
2037: $7 million
2038: $6.25 million
2039: $6.25 million
The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal reports that the $500 million dollars will take the form of a $325 million signing bonus, paid out across the 14 year contract, and the rest ($175 million) is in his actual annual salary.
It’s the third largest contract in history in total guarantee, and the second largest deal in by net present value.
ANALYSIS:
This deal is kind of a steal for the Blue Jays. Some analysts believed that if he went to free agency he might get $600 to even $700 million. You’re getting a 4-10 WAR player (kinda comparable to Juan Soto) for about 8 years for only $500 million. Nowhere near the kind of money Juan Soto is making. He’s gonna bat anywhere from .260-.340, which is INSANE. He is sacrificing (maybe) $100-$200 million by staying with the Blue Jays. He’s a 4x All-Star, 1x All-Star Game MVP, 2x Silver Slugger, 1x HR Derby Champion, 2x All-MLB First Team Member, 2x Tip O'Neill Award Winner, 1x Hank Aaron Award Winner, and 1x Gold Glover. (Thank you to the Blue Jays on X for tweeting that. I’m not looking all that up!) There hasn’t been a full season (excluding his rookie campaign) where Vlad has hit less than 25 bombs. Same with having 90 RBI’s (excluding his rookie campaign). Same with having 150 hits (excluding his rookie campaign). Same with having a .260 AVG (including rookie campaign). You get the point. There’s only been one full season where his WAR was less than 2.0. The Blue Jays get a franchise player to build around for years, and they get to extend him for under market pricing. That’s a pretty good deal.
BOTTOM LINE
———————
The Blue Jays lock Vlad up for a relatively team friendly contract, and Guerrero gets his pay check. The Blue Jays get their big fish, and someone to be the head of the franchise. Vladdy is here to stay, Blue Jays fans - the future of this team is in home run hitting hands!
