Ryan Braun's agent should be fired!!

Great job by the Brewers brass by locking up their superstar LF for the next 8 years!!

Ryan Braun signed an 8 yr $45M contract that will keep him in Milwaukee until he is 32 years old. An average of less than $6M per season.  This is chump change in the current world of MLB!!

Hanley Ramirez just signed a similar style deal with the Marlins, except his deal is going to average $10M+ per year.

Why would Braun's agent allow him to take such a long term deal?  To me it seems like he has essentially screwed his client, and himself out of a lot of money down the road.  I do understand how arbitration works, but I still feel like Braun could've made a lot more money if he had not agreed to such a long relatively low-dollar deal. 

His deal is very similar to Evan Longoria's 9 yr $44M deal he just signed, but Longoria is yet to prove himself and Braun is already a feared slugger in the NL!

It's a choice.  His team mate, Prince Fielder's agent does not want to bargain away arbritration or FA years.  So, he is making like $560,000 per.  A young player really has no leverage.  But, since he bargained a way his arbritration years and 2 FA years, he can now begin to build an investment portfolio and still hit the FA market in his prime.  assuming his proiduction remains the same, he wtill will break the bank.  It's a calculated gamble for the player and great for the team if he does not drop off.  But, if he drops off, he has $45M in his pocket, does not have to worry about an arbritrator siding with the team, and becoming a FA with a less than sparkling resume. 

Keep in mind, an arbritrator is not going to give him A-Rod, Soriano, or even Reyes money, even if his year is as good as theirs.  With 1 year down, Braun has 5 years and a couple of months befor he would have been a FA.  So in essence, he traded 3 year non arbritration years for two years of FA eligibility.  Maybe he did not make out like Ramirez, but the Brewers were not going to give him that anyway.  But, at least he is not at the teams whim for the next 4, an arbritrators for two thereafter,  and at 31 he will be a FA free to sign for another 6 years at his worth.  It is not as bad as you think. 

Fielder and Boras are gambling that he will not get injured, and he will continue to blast 40-50 HR's or so per.  But, in the meantime, he is making relative peanuts. 

Actually, it's $45M over 7 years as it is an extension from the 2008 season.  He will be 31 when the contract expires and it's worth about $6.4M a season. 

I agree that the Brewers front office got the better end of the deal but it is risky for both teams.  Yes, Braun is already an established hitter but what if an injury were to come up and then become re-occuring?  Braun still doesn't have a full year of major league experience and what if all of a sudden opposing pitching staffs discover an effective way to pitch him?  Braun also will receive an extra $6M if he qualifies as a "super 2" after the 2009 season.  The top 17 percent of players with at least 2 but less than 3 years of Major League service. These are known as “Super 2” players. To qualify as a Super 2, a player must have accumulated at least 86 days of service in the previous year. Historically, the cutoff point for Super 2 status is 2 years, 128 days of service, though the requirement has been as high as 2 years, 140 days in years past.

So in all likelyhood, this is actually a $51M dollar deal over 7 years which will turn out to be about $7.3M a season.  Not bad for a kid who had a very good rookie year but has yet to play a full major league season and hasn't been a very good defensive player so far in his career.

I'm glad the deal got done and I think both sides should be very happy with the outcome.  Isn't that how it should be for any done deal?

Why would Braun's agent allow him to take such a long term deal? 

Maybe Braun told him to take the deal.  Damn him for actually putting the client first and acting like the employee that he is.

More agents should act like employees.  That means you, Scott Boras.

as Doug Melvin put it yesterday, "He's gonna be 31 when this contract expires, so he'll definitely get another bite of the apple".

he's only losing 2 years of free agency, meanwhile he is increasing his next couple seasons salary 10 fold. (assuming this contract is spread evenly, i dont know if it is)

and what if he tears his ACL like Gallardo? then where would he be without this contract?

so many people complain about greedy athletes (rightfully so) but when something like this comes along we also want to talk about it in a negative light? why? Braun should be commended for being dedicated to the franchise that drafted him.

Yep.

He probably realizes that money today is more valuable than money in 2012.

Lets see, Braun makes roughly 400k this year.  If he ever tore is ACL and never played again he gets zero.

In the first 2 years of arbitration, they dont pay.

So he is trading 2 non arbitration years, 3 arbitration years and 2 free agent years for a contract that sets up your children's grandchildren for the rest of their lives.

Yeah, sounds like a bad move