mac-unit wrote:He would've gotten $35 million on the open market, just over 4 years. They can see if he can some how get back to his old form. If not, he's off the books in 2 years. The problem with all of these recent huge contracts are the years, not the money.
$35 million over 4 years is a much less greater hit than $35 over 2 as well, though. If you're stuck with Timmy at $8.75 million per year, you can stomach a lot more than paying the guy $17.5 million per year even over a short 2 years. If I'm gonna pay $35 million to a guy to see if he can get back to his old form, I'd rather have him on a 4 year deal where his annual salary is at least potentially movable in the latter stages. To me, this is just a great deal by Lincecum's agent, to give him a short window to put up numbers more Lincecum-like of old, and to cash in on another big payday 2 years from now.
The problem is 2-fold with the huge contracts. Yes, they're entirely too long, but the ultimate issue is the money per year that the guys are getting over that stretch. They're getting peak money every year including five years after expected peak production. I actually think that this deal is one where it was beneficial for the player to take a shorter deal (really, this deal is just a huge win for Lincecum on all fronts) because it sets up a potentially longer big payday if he rebounds.