Last week, the New York Mets signed All-Star slugger J.D. Martinez to a one-year, $12 million contract.
Martinez, who hit 33 home runs and drove in 103 runs last year with the Los Angeles Dodgers, took forever to sign and probably didn’t get the kind of contract he wanted.
Still, he was able to structure the deal to have some deferred money.
The nature of the deferrals, however, is somewhat odd.
The folks at Talkin’ Baseball discussed the deal.
The J.D. Martinez contract deferrals are wild pic.twitter.com/5Ai8pTpsDD
— Talkin’ Baseball (@TalkinBaseball_) March 25, 2024
Of the $12 million the deal is worth, Martinez received a $2.5 million signing bonus and will get $2 million this year.
What about the remaining $7.5 million?
Well, he will get them over a five-year period from 2034 to 2038.
Each July from 2034 to 2038, Martinez will receive $1.5 million from the Mets.
Deferrals are increasingly popular in MLB these days.
Professional athletes can make a lot of money during their careers, but after that, many of them don’t have the same earning potential as when they are active.
That’s why MLB players who sign big free-agent deals can structure their contracts to have their teams pay some of their guaranteed money in the future.
Of course, not everybody can defer $680 million over a 10-year period like Shohei Ohtani did, but making $1.5 million per year is not too shabby.
Martinez has the offensive talent to help the Mets in their quest of making the postseason in 2024.
Several best-case scenarios are needed for that to happen, but New York can certainly surprise a few people this year with the roster they have put together.
The post Analysts Explain Odd J.D. Martinez Contract Structure appeared first on The Cold Wire.