Cliff Lee Phillies Contract Actually Worth $120 Million Guaranteed

So Cliff Lee has signed with the Phillies, and the entire baseball world has gone insane - not only because Cliff Lee signed with the Phillies out of nowhere, but because Cliff Lee signed with the Phillies out of nowhere at midnight ET.

Earlier Monday night, it was reported that Lee’s five-year contract with the Phillies is worth about $100 million. Now we have some more accurate details, and we can compare between the offers laid out by the Rangers, Yankees, and Phillies.

According to Jerry Crasnick, Lee’s deal with the Phillies is worth a guaranteed $120 million over five years, with a vesting sixth-year option.

Also according to Crasnick, the Yankees’ best offer was $132 million over six years, with a $16 million vesting seventh-year option.

And finally, from Jon Morosi, the Rangers’ best offer was $138 million over six years, with a $23 million vesting seventh-year option.

All of them offered Lee about $22-24 million over the next five seasons, and while a big storyline so far is that Lee left a lot of money on the table, in the end, it turns out that he both did and didn’t. In terms of average annual value, he didn’t sacrifice anything, but what he did give up by signing with Philadelphia was a shot at a seventh year.

As part of his contract, Lee will receive a partial no-trade clause. Roy Halladay, Ryan Howard, and Chase Utley also have full or partial no-trade clauses.

Update: from Ken Rosenthal, we get that Lee’s contract has a maximum value of $135 million over six years, with a $27.5 million vesting sixth-year option and a $12.5 million buyout. So it’s a max of $135 million, and a minimum of $120 million.