The Boston Red Sox finally extended one of their homegrown stars, Rafael Devers, to an 11-year, $331 million contract this week.
After losing Mookie Betts via trade in 2020 because they couldn’t extend him, and then saying goodbye to Xander Bogaerts (via free agency) this season for the same reason, Red Sox fans needed to see Devers under contract for the next decade to feel some sort of relief.
The team will have to pay those $331 million over the next 11 years, with no deferred money.
Deferring money has its pros and cons, but there is no doubt that the Sox will have to fork out a significant amount of money in a relatively short period of time.
Betts did defer some money to the future, and one has to wonder if that was the case, why they couldn’t get to an agreement.
“Assuming there is no deferred money in Rafael Devers’s deal w the Red Sox, the team will pay more to him than the Dodgers will pay to Mookie Betts, whose deal has heavy deferrals,” ESPN insider Buster Olney tweeted.
Assuming there is no deferred money in Rafael Devers’s deal w the Red Sox, the team will pay more to him than the Dodgers will pay to Mookie Betts, whose deal has heavy deferrals.
— Buster Olney (@Buster_ESPN) January 5, 2023
Betts signed a 12-year, $365 million deal with the Dodgers.
Yes, it was three years ago and the financial landscape from back then is not the same as the current one.
However, with deferrals and inflation, that kind of contract is much easier to stomach.
Betts’ luxury tax number is a little over $25.5 million, which is not too big for a player of his stature.
He deferred $115 million from 2033 to 2044.
A team like the Red Sox, that generates a lot of money from TV deals, merchandise sales, tickets, and other ways, can easily pay that through the years.
Bottom line, they probably could have locked up Betts and paired him with Devers.
