The Toronto Blue Jays did what was seemingly impossible, and that's retaining superstar first baseman Vladimir Guerrero Jr. Despite Guerrero saying that the deadline for a contract extension was the first day he reported for spring training, the lines of communication between player and team were still open. Just last week, the Blue Jays and Guerrero agreed to terms on a 14-year, $500 million contract extension. With that, Guerrero would remain in Toronto for the rest of his career, and the Blue Jays did so on the final year under team control.
If you thought the contract numbers were insane before, The Athletic's Ken Rosenthal dropped a bombshell.
Rosenthal reports that out of the $500 million on the contract, $325 million is Guerrero's signing bonus. That means Guerrero will only earn $175 million in salary. As for how the signing bonus will be paid out, Rosenthal reports that Guerrero will receive it in various annual amounts throughout the 14-year contract, along with his salary.
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Vladimir Guerrero Jr. to receive $325 million signing bonus in new Blue Jays contract
As for why Guerrero would agree to receive most of his money through a signing bonus, Rosenthal hints at two potential reasons. The first is that the signing bonus is "allocated to an athlete's state of residence," and Guerrero lives in Florida, where there's no state income tax. Also, Rosenthal says that signing bonuses "are not contingent on the performance of services." Rosenthal says that if, for example, MLB canceled games via a work stoppage, Guerrero would still receive his annual signing bonus payout.
The Blue Jays have swung and missed on a variety of top free agents in recent years, with names including Juan Soto, Shohei Ohtani, and Corbin Burnes spurning Toronto for another team. If Guerrero were to hit free agency, there was a strong chance he could sign elsewhere for huge money. There was buzz that Guerrero would have considered signing with the rival Boston Red Sox.
But Toronto and Guerrero's representation made sure that the star would not see the open market. Now, he will be the face of the franchise for, likely, the rest of his career. Committing $500 million was enough reason for Guerrero to put pen to paper, but the $325 million signing bonus made it an even easier decision.