Chipper’s new deal
December 3rd, 2005 at 12:43am Jeff J. Snider Sports
Sometimes I really can’t tell how much my opinions are colored by my dislike for Chipper Jones. I was reading tonight about his newly restructured contract, and John Schuerholz had this to say:
Whatever it takes, Chipper is always willing to step up, and we are pleased that this latest unselfish act will likely ensure that he will play his entire career as a Brave.
Yes, this new contract pays Chipper $6 million less next season (unless you count the $4 million signing bonus he gets next month, but hey, if it doesn’t count towards the payroll number, it ain’t real money, right?), giving them a little wiggle room to try to re-sign Rafael Furcal. But look at the details of the contract. Before the restructure, Chipper had $22 million in guaranteed money left on his contract. Now, he has $37 million guaranteed. His two options years, 2007 and 2008, are now guaranteed, and the Braves have a vested option on 2009. And this all happened two months after ending a season in which he missed 50 games due to injury!
Well, love Chipper or hate him, you have to give him credit: he just convinced the Braves to give him $15 million while praising his unselfishness. If I could just find a way to do that ONE TIME, I would be set.
Entry Filed under: Sports
1 Comment Add your own
1. Two Fat Guys Talking Abou&hellip | December 7th, 2005 at 11:41 am
[...] My understanding of the union rules is that Bagwell would not be allowed to restructure his contract for lower annual dollars unless the overall dollar figure went up. For example, as I noted the other day, Chipper Jones restructured his contract in a purely “unselfish” manner that included $15 million more in guaranteed money. He is getting paid less per season, but he got a couple more guaranteed years tacked on, as well as a signing bonus up front. So in order for Bagwell to provide any financial relief to the Astros, they would have to either guarantee him more years (not likely, considering his health), give him a big signing bonus (which, as I mentioned in my Chipper post, doesn’t actually provide financial relief, since bonuses aren’t paid out in Monopoly money), and/or pay him for a few years after he is retired (which probably isn’t any better than paying him when he is inured or ineffective). So basically, the Astros are stuck with Bagwell’s contract. [...]
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