Wait Is Worth It for Jeter: $189 Million Over 10 Years

Derek Jeter and the New York Yankees agreed Friday to a 10-year, $189-million contract after more than 13 months of negotiations.

“I never intended to play elsewhere,” Jeter said, “and to be honest with you, never intended to look elsewhere.”

Yankee President Randy Levine and Casey Close, the agent for the all-star shortstop, finalized details of the deal Friday morning, according to a source familiar with the negotiations.

“This was an arduous process,” Levine said. “This is an agreement that’s a fair agreement and a great agreement for everybody.”

Jeter’s contract package is the second largest in sports history, trailing only the 10-year, $252-million deal in December between shortstop Alex Rodriguez and the Texas Rangers.

“Being the highest paid is not something I covet,” Jeter said. “If that was the case, I would have waited another year and maximized my earning potential.”

At 26, Jeter already has won four World Series championship rings. He was MVP of the World Series and All-Star game last year.

The contract raises the Yankees’ payroll to $99,337,143 for 20 signed players, with closer Mariano Rivera still in arbitration and expected to get a salary of $9 million to $10 million.

Jeter gets a $16-million signing bonus payable over eight years, $11 million this season, $13 million in 2002, $14 million in 2003, $17 million in 2004, $18 million in 2005, $19 million in 2006, $20 million in each of the following three seasons and $21 million in 2010.

Last year, Levine and Close agreed to a seven-year, $118.5-million contract for Jeter, but Yankee owner George Steinbrenner wouldn’t close the deal because he didn’t want to set any salary records, preferring to wait for an eight-year, $143-million contract between Juan Gonzalez and Detroit to be finalized.

But Gonzalez’s deal stalled and then fell apart. Jeter signed a one-year, $10-million contract.

Jeter batted .339 last season with 15 home runs and 73 runs batted in. The Yankees have won the World Series championship three consecutive seasons and four times in five years since Jeter joined the team.

Jeter’s price went up when Rodriguez signed with Texas. The average annual value of his contract, $18.9 million, is baseball’s third highest behind Rodriguez ($25.2 million) and Boston outfielder Manny Ramirez ($20 million).

Jeter had been eligible for free agency after this season but had no desire to follow Rodriguez’s example and test his value on the market.

“I couldn’t picture it,” Jeter said. “I really felt there was no reason to see if the grass was greener on the other side. Even if I had played out the year, my first choice would have been New York.”

Including last year’s deal, Jeter will get $114 million for the years 2000-06. By waiting, Steinbrenner actually will pay $4.5 million less for those years than he would have under last year’s tentative agreement, but he was forced to guarantee Jeter an additional four years, paying $85 million over that period.

Rivera, whose arbitration hearing originally was scheduled for Thursday, will have his case rescheduled for Feb. 14 or 19 in the wake of the firing of his agents, Jim Bronner and Bob Gilhooley, by SFX Entertainment Inc. Randy Hendricks will handle Rivera’s case.

Rivera is asking for a raise from $7.25 million to $10.25 million, and Bronner turned down a three-year, $27-million deal. The Yankees offered $9 million in arbitration.

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BASEBALL

Biggest Contracts

Baseball contracts worth $80 million or more. Figures were obtained by the Associated Press from player and management sources and include all guaranteed income but not income from potential incentive bonuses. There is no distinction for money deferred without interest:

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Player, Team Years Avg. Salary Alex Rodriguez, Texas 2001-10 $252 million Derek Jeter, New York Yankees 2001-10 $189 million Manny Ramirez, Boston 2001-08 $160 million Mike Hampton, Colorado 2001-08 $121 million Ken Griffey Jr., Cincinnati 2000-08 $116.5 million Kevin Brown, Dodgers 1999-05 $105 million Mike Piazza, New York Mets 1999-05 $91 million Chipper Jones, Atlanta 2001-06 $90 million Mike Mussina, New York Yankees 2001-06 $88 million Bernie Williams, New York Yankees 1999-05 $87.5 million Jeff Bagwell, Houston 2002-06 $85 million Shawn Green, Dodgers 2000-05 $84 million Mo Vaughn, Angels 1999-04 $80 million

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Highest Salaries

Baseball contracts with average annual values of $14 million or more. Figures were obtained by the Associated Press from player and management sources and include all guaranteed income but not income from potential incentive bonuses. There is no distinction for money deferred without interest:

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Player, Team Years Avg. Salary Alex Rodriguez, Texas 2001-10 $25.2 million Manny Ramirez, Boston 2001-08 $20 million Derek Jeter, New York Yankees 2001-10 $18.9 million Jeff Bagwell, Houston 2002-06 $17 million Carlos Delgado, Toronto 2001-04 $17 million Roger Clemens, New York Yankees 2001-02 $15.45 million* Mike Hampton, Colorado 2001-08 $15.125 million Kevin Brown, Dodgers 1999-05 $15 million Chipper Jones, Atlanta 2001-06 $15 million Mike Mussina, New York Yankees 2001-06 $14.75 million Shawn Green, Dodgers 2000-05 $14 million

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* Yankees value Clemens’ contract at three years, averaging $10.3 million a year.