On the eve of the official press conference formally announcing Carlos Gonzalez's 7-year, $80 million contract, the final details of the contract's structure have finally emerged. These numbers are courtesy of Venezuela sportswriter Augusto Cárdenas.
CarGo will receive a $3MM signing bonus;$1M in 2011;$5MM in 2012;$7.5MM in 2013;$10.5MM in 2014;$16MM in 2015; $17MM in 2016 & $20MM in 2017
Augusto Cárdenas
ACardenas13
Gonzalez will also earn bonuses for the following accomplishments: $25,000 for each All-Star appearance and Gold Glove awarded, $50,000 for each Silver Slugger award received, $75,000 for receiving the NLCS MVP award, and $100,000 for World Series or League MVP. If those incentives were in place this past season, Gonzalez would have earned an extra $100,000 in bonuses. Though he does not have a no-trade clause, he will receive a one million dollar payout every time he is traded, however unlikely that appears right now.
This contract is weighed more heavily towards Gonzalez's free agent years, but not extremely so. The first two years of the deal match up with the last two years of Todd Helton's contract and also the last cheap years of Troy Tulowitzki's contract as well. The payroll won't take a large jump until after Helton's contract is off the books, and still allows for the front office to spend money on complementary pieces.
These numbers represent a dramatic savings for the Rockies organization, and also gives Carlos Gonzalez financial security while locking in one of the top young players in baseball.