Do I hear $300M, now $320, $320 now $340...

[Sour Masher]

Again, I disagree...but that's what makes this a great game. The money really doesn't matter as much as tying up a player like Stanton...the Marlins are such a cheap outfit that they wouldn't offer a deal like this unless it was in their long term financial interests.

And Stanton has historic power...something that is in scarce supply in the current game. A guy who has the potential to hit 50+ homers a season I suspect that you can count on one hand, minus a few fingers. He's worth the money, IMO.

Well, I think we can both agree at least that they are not buying low at all on a guy who has averaged 128 games a year in his first three seasons. I remember The Dane mentioning having some concerns about his back awhile back. He silenced those concerns this year to an extent with his career high 145 games, but he still represents some risk imo, and that is not reflected at all in his deal. But I guess the Marlins had to pay a premium given their horrid track record with players. I'd have made them pay to keep me too.

[joncarlos]

Even with the NTC, I'd say the odds he is even with the Marlins in year 8 are pretty damn low.

[Gregg]

Rotoworld saying it is officially in place. 13 years $325M. Opt out somewhere a little after he turns 30 (5 years).

I guess it was about the money.

[Sour Masher]

This deal is the largest in the history of professional sports. Holy crap.

Yep, a player who has averaged playing just under 80% of the games he is eligible for is totally worth shattering the world record for a sports deal. I know, I know, this is the new market, and this deal won't last long as the biggest. And I get that the Marlins have to pay a premium to keep or get an elite talent with their horrid track record. But still. If I am the owner/GM who is about to give the largest contract in sports history to a player, I'm going to nitpick that player a lot. This isn't football. This is guaranteed money. A deal this large can go so epically bad for a club. This is like three Mike Hampton deals in one, if it goes bad. Even if you put aside the dollar amount, 13 years, really? The only thing I've seen like it is Dipietro's deal in hockey (what a horrid deal that was from day one btw). 13 year!? That is just crazy long. Is there insurance for deals like this? Does the team get money back if he gets hit by a car? Loses a hand in a ferris wheel accident?

[mgwiz22]

As a Marlin fan I obviously hope it works out. The money is probably spread out in a way that most of the cash gets paid once they strike a new TV deal. I'm less worried about Stanton being worth the money than the risk of injury. Forgetting about the other injuries he has missed time from that still leaves the fact he is coming back from getting hit in the face! Some people don't regain their hitting skills after that sort of injury (Read Moonlight's comment about Heyward in the Brave/Cardinal thread). It might have been more prudent to wait and see how he fared early in the season before going this far out on a limb. The Marlins aren't the Yankees. If this is a bad contract this franchise will be devastated.

[Papa Deuce]

From their Owner:

"Giancarlo Stanton has come of age, and he's going to be here a long time," Loria said in a phone interview. "It's wonderful to have a young man this caliber, integrity and ability, and I'm very happy."

Someone must have written that for him; I don't think Loria knows what "integrity" means.

[Kevin Seitzer]

Is there insurance for deals like this? Does the team get money back if he gets hit by a car? Loses a hand in a ferris wheel accident?

Typically contracts like this are insured on a renewable three-year basis. If the player is injured, the insurer will typically pay the club 75% of the contract value over the DL time. Premiums are a few percent of the insured value, more if the player has a past injury history. Team Scotti is the insurance broker for basically all of the MLB teams. You can do a search on them if you want to learn more.

[Papa Deuce]

BTW, I found this a funny title to a story on ABC News:

Meet Giancarlo Stanton, Little Known Ball Player Poised to Sign $325 Million Deal

OK, as baseball lovers we surely know him, and I am sure some folks don't..... but I would hardly call him "little known".

[madducks]

BTW, I found this a funny title to a story on ABC News:

Meet Giancarlo Stanton, Little Known Ball Player Poised to Sign $325 Million Deal

OK, as baseball lovers we surely know him, and I am sure some folks don't..... but I would hardly call him "little known".

To an extent it is true. Most baseball fans probably don't pay much attention to the Marlins or Stanton. This contract will change that and give Stanton more star appeal. I'm betting he starts getting more endorsement offers than he ever did before.

[Sour Masher]

Typically contracts like this are insured on a renewable three-year basis. If the player is injured, the insurer will typically pay the club 75% of the contract value over the DL time. Premiums are a few percent of the insured value, more if the player has a past injury history. Team Scotti is the insurance broker for basically all of the MLB teams. You can do a search on them if you want to learn more.

Thanks KC. Very interesting. I knew insurance was involved in some way on player contracts, but I didn't know how standard or common they were. I figured that since, in general, insurance is a losing proposition for the insured (that is how insurers make money after all) that those with the resources to take large losses would typically forego it. But I imagine that with money amounts this large, it is wise to spend for the safety net.

[Kevin Seitzer]

Thanks KC. Very interesting. I knew insurance was involved in some way on player contracts, but I didn't know how standard or common they were. I figured that since, in general, insurance is a losing proposition for the insured (that is how insurers make money after all) that those with the resources to take large losses would typically forego it. But I imagine that with money amounts this large, it is wise to spend for the safety net.

It's not only or even mostly about the monetary loss. It's about the impact losing an important player can have to the team and, without insurance, not having the budget to replace their wins on short notice.

[wannabegriffey]

13 years and $325,000,000 contract?!

Opt out and no trade protection included?!

Two years from free agency.

Marlins are now atop the stupid list.

[Sour Masher]

13 years and $325,000,000 contract?!

Opt out and no trade protection included?!

Two years from free agency.

Marlins are now atop the stupid list.

Your almost haiku says it more succinctly than I have tried to this point.

[Davros]

I really don't see this as a 13 year contract. It has been rare for players in their prime years with out-out clauses to not exercise them. According to Jayson Stark, here are the guaranteed terms of the deal, which look very reasonable to my eyes. Barring accidents, this looks like a very good deal for Miami IMHO (as I fully expect this contract to be torn up after 2020).

According to a major league source who had seen the terms, Stanton's salaries over those first three seasons will be only $6.5 million in 2015, $9 million in 2016 and $14.5 million in 2017, far less than he could have earned through arbitration in 2015 and 2016 and then via free agency. He would earn $77 million over the next three seasons and could opt out of the contract after 2020, following his age 30 season.

So the Marlins would be on the hook for only $107 million of the deal over the first six seasons, which computes to an average annual value of just $17.83 million per season before Stanton would have the right to exercise the opt-out clause.

http://espn.go.com/mlb/story/_/id/11...ily-backloaded

[Sour Masher]

Of Stanton opts out, it becomes a very good deal for the Marlins, because it will mean the Stanton has played well enough to walk away from $218 million over 7 years (over 31 million a year) as a 30 year old. If that ends up being the case, the Marlins can pat themselves on the backs. Still hugely risky.