SOX SECURE PEDROIA LONG-TERM

The Red Sox locked down Dustin Pedroia for at least 6 years. The deal is worth a total of $40.5 million, and includes a club option for a 7th year. The contract is heavily backloaded, meaning Pedroia's checks will be significantly larger toward the end of the deal than they will be at the start. He'll receive a $1.5 million salary in 2009, but the last year of the deal is worth $10 million. The 7th year option is for $11 million.

This is a tremendous deal for the Sox, as they'll be paying the reigning MVP about $6.75 million per year. That's half of what Julio Lugo gets, and might be around half of what Jason Varitek will get. It's amazing how much bad players are paid.

The only downside to the deal is that if Pedroia falters in a few seasons, he'll be very difficult to trade and costly to release. But that's a worst-case scenario.

Source:
Extra Bases