Another "A-Bomb For A-Rod" Contract
Alex Rodriguez set another record for baseball's highest contract, finalizing his $275 million, 10-year agreement with the New York Yankees on Thursday.
The news came as former teammates Roger Clemens and Andy Pettitte, both pitchers, were the first names to emerge Thursday from the Mitchell report on steroid use in Major League Baseball. Clemens is now a free agent; Pettitte and the Yankees have agreed to a one-year contract for 2008.
Rodriguez set the previous salary mark with his $252 million, 10-year deal with Texas in December 2000. Traded to the Yankees in 2004, he opted out of that contract Oct. 28, during the final game of the World Series.
Yankees senior vice president Hank Steinbrenner said New York would not negotiate further with Rodriguez because his decision eliminated the $21.3 million subsidy the Yankees were to receive from Texas from 2008-10, a figure negotiated at the time of the trade.
But Rodriguez then approached the Yankees through a managing director at Goldman Sachs and negotiated his new deal in early November without agent Scott Boras.
"It seemed like the whole thing was a roller-coaster. It was very emotional," Rodriguez said on a conference call. "All along, I knew I wanted to be a Yankee."
Rodriguez said opting out was "a mistake that was handled extremely poorly."
"It was a huge debacle," he said, calling the timing "distasteful and very inappropriate."
A-Rod said Boras gave him the impression the Yankees weren't interested in bringing him back, which surprised him.
Baseball superstar Alex Rodriguez says if there is truth in the Mitchell report that accuses dozens of players of using steroids it will be a "huge black eye"on the game of baseball. Katie Couric also speaks with Rodriguez about is new record-breaking, 10-year contract with the New York Yankees. On 60 Minutes 7p.m. ET/PT Sunday.
"Our goals were not aligned," Rodriguez said. "It felt funny to me."
He said he and Boras agreed the slugger would opt out of his deal, but Rodriguez thought the move would be revealed after the World Series.
"I made mistakes. I've got to look in the mirror. If I had to do it again, I would've called Hank from Day 1 and negotiated myself," Rodriguez said.
But he soon called Steinbrenner.
"If he hung up on me, I wouldn't have been surprised. I thought my career was over with the Yankees," Rodriguez said.
He said once he did get in touch with Steinbrenner and his brother Hal, an executive vice president with the Yankees, it didn't take long to reach an agreement.
"Within two conversations we got a deal done," Rodriguez said.
His new contract allows A-Rod to earn $30 million more for achieving historic milestones. He is 18th on the career list with 518 homers, 244 shy of Barry Bonds' record.
Rodriguez won his third AL Most Valuable Player award last month after hitting .314 with 54 homers and 156 RBIs. But he's frequently been a target for boo birds at Yankee Stadium - due in large part to his postseason struggles.
"I have a lot to prove in New York," said Rodriguez, who has never reached the World Series. "I think the criticism is what comes with being in New York."
A-Rod gets a $10 million signing bonus, of which $2 million is payable upon approval by the commissioner's office, $1 million each Jan. 15 from 2009-13 and $3 million on Jan. 15, 2014.
Rodriguez receives salaries of $27 million next year, $32 million in 2009 and 2010, $31 million in 2011, $29 million in 2012, $28 million in 2013, $25 million in 2014, $21 million in 2015 and $20 million in each of the final two years.
His $32 million salaries in 2009 and 2010 will be the largest for one season in major league history.
Rodriguez could receive an additional $6 million each for five milestones that the team designates as historic achievements. They are contemplated to be tying the home run marks of Willie Mays (660), Babe Ruth (714), Hank Aaron (755) and Bonds, and breaking Bonds' major league record.
Under the deal he opted out of, A-Rod earned $185.45 million over seven years.