Major League Baseball

Yanks, Jeter both gain with new deal

Published Dec. 4, 2010 12:00 a.m. ET

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Bob Klapisch

From the very beginning, the Yankees realized the negotiations with Derek Jeter would be unlike any they'd ever conducted. Not because the captain wanted to be the richest player in the club's history, like Alex Rodriguez, or because he wanted another 10-year commitment like the one he extracted from the team in 2000.

This time it was Jeter's pride — more precisely, his ego — that needed to be helped to the finish line. By the time an agreement was finally reached on a complex four-year deal (three years plus option) worth a minimum of $56 million, both parties had achieved their long-range goal.

The Yankees' victory was in effectively getting Jeter to accept a pay cut from last season's $21.5 million salary — no small task considering the shortstop had dropped the meter at $24 million per.

Not only did Jeter drop down to a more reasonable average of $17 million per, he agreed to defer a portion of his salary to lighten the Yankees' payroll tax over the next three seasons.

Jeter, in turn, maintains his status as the game's highest-paid shortstop, topping Troy Tulowitzki's recent deal that averages out to just less than $16 million for the next decade.

“Everyone came out ahead in this (Yankee) deal,” said one person who'd been briefed on the talks.

Specifically, the payout breaks down like this:

Jeter will make at least $51 million for the next three years, which includes a $3 million buyout for 2014. It's his choice whether to return in 2014, however — if he does, he loses the $3 million buyout and replaces it with an $8 million base salary. That makes the deal worth a guaranteed $56 million through four seasons.

In addition, Jeter can pick up another $9 million if he accumulates enough “points” through the term of the contract, for either winning or finishing second-through-sixth in the MVP balloting, Silver Slugger award, World Series MVP or Gold Glove.

If Jeter accumulates all possible “points” he'll have earned a total of $65 million through 2014.

One person involved in the talks called it, “one of the most creative” deals the Yankees had ever done. That was due, in part, to the dual chore of being respectful to Jeter while lowering his pay. The fact that a compromise was struck in just four days suggests how persuasively the Yankees made their case on Tuesday, when GM Brian Cashman, president Randy Levine and owner Hal Steinbrenner sat in Jeter's living room for a decisive four-hour meeting.

Until that point, the tenor of the negotiations were strained at best — hostile at worst. Jeter's agent had said he was “baffled” by the team's refusal to consider this a legacy deal. The Yankees shot back that Jeter simply didn't merit a $23 million annual salary in his age 37-39 seasons.

If he didn't believe it, Cashman said, he could test the market and see for himself.

The gap between the two sides grew so wide, Jeter's camp summoned the Yankee hierarchy to his home to ask, point-blank, if they truly wanted him back in 2011. Jeter remembered how Bernie Williams was shown the door after the 2006 season; he knew the Yankees could be as cold-blooded as the situation required once an icon had fallen out of favor.

Jeter already had heard from five different teams, each expressing differing levels of interest. He wasn't taking the bait, not at least until he heard for himself what the Yankees had in mind for the future.

The Yankees naturally said they had every intention of bringing Jeter back, despite his career lows in virtually every offensive category in 2010. Eventually, manager Joe Girardi will have to find a more appropriate place for Jeter to hit in the batting order — he's lost his credentials for the leadoff spot  — but for the purposes of Tuesday's meeting, their support for the captain was unwavering.

Still the Yankees had to make Jeter understand he was no longer negotiating as a 26-year-old in his prime. He's in the final stages of his career, already the oldest shortstop in the majors. One member of the Yankee party pulled Jeter aside at one point and reminded him that even Hollywood's greatest actors make less money as they age, even if their legacies continue to grow.

The Bombers weren't sure Jeter understood. One person close to the captain said, “for Derek to compromise means he has to realize where he is in his career. It's hard to tell if he gets that.”

The Yankees knew it would be hard to penetrate the tight circle of supporters who've sustained Jeter's perception of the world: agents, family, friends — none of whom risk telling the Yankee star the occasional hard truth. In this case, it was the front office that was forced to open Jeter's eyes. With all due respect, they said, the captain wasn't getting that $23 million a year. Not now, not ever.

It took some 72 hours for the message to sink in, but by Friday the talks gained momentum. Jeter's camp called to say they were ready to find a middle ground. The wheels were set in motion, which led to Saturday's final calculus.

Of course, there'll be plenty of smiles and hugs when Jeter puts his signature on the contract. After that comes the hard part: Jeter will have to prove last year's numbers were an aberration. He'll have to forget some of the things that were said and written about him in November. He'll have to show up in spring training with the idea that the next four years are a gift, not a time for score-settling.

If Jeter can live up to those terms, he and the Yankees both will profit.

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