Cubs sign Samardzija to five-year, $8 million deal

[PaulRigdon]

sports.espn.go.com/mlb/ne...id=2736354

 

Interesting move on his part. Hard to pass up playing in the NFL

[endaround]

Actually its fairly easy to pass up. $8 million is more than he'd make in his first 4 to 5 years in the NFL even if everything works out. Baseball guarentees more money, players tend to make more money, and the pension system is much better.

[PaulRigdon]

Valid point...plus if he blows out his knee in training camp he gets nothing. if he tears his rotator cuff in winter ball, he gets $8 million.

[Brian the Automator]

....or crashes his mini-bike.

[TheCrew07]

Not only is the money better, but typically you can play longer. If and when I have son, if it came down football or baseball, I'd recommend baseball, and I'm a football coach.

[Cracked Bat Collector]

Glad to see he chose the right sport http://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/smile.gif

[parkside21]

Not to pick hairs, but Yahoo is reporting it as worth 10 million...maybe I just got the numbers confused though...

[AJAY]

Dayn Perry of FoxSports.com seems a little skeptical about Samardzija's true ability.

 

msn.foxsports.com/mlb/story/6385890

[colbyjack]

Perry is absolutely right on this one. Samardzija has incredible upside as a pitcher, but he's about as raw as they come. Great stuff, minus the results, because he's a thrower at this point in time, not a pitcher. That's an incredible financial risk the Cubs have taken, although they seem enamored with risky Notre Dame arms (they took Grant Johnson the year before and gave him big money as a 3rd rounder or so as he was recovering from TJ surgery IIRC).

 

It's definitely a smart move for Samardzija, financially. He will be lucky to be pitching in the big leagues with effectiveness before that contract runs out.

[trwi7]

Quote:

---

if he tears his rotator cuff in winter ball, he gets $8 million.

---

 

That wouldn't be shocking considering what team he plays for...http://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/smile.gif

[homer]

Quote:

---

pension system is much better

---

 

Do you qualify for the pension if you never make it on a 40 man roster?

 

I guess the dilema for me would be: make a few more million and possibly toil in the minors for years OR still be e millionaire but play in the NFL right away.

[JJHardy7]

I know ESPN and other sources were saying he would be a 1st round NFL pick (I'm guessing later in the 1st round), which probably would've been a 2 - 3 million or so bonus. I also think 1st rounders in the NFL can sign any length (at least 3 than restricted). The money works out, but I really wish he would've tried to do both. I can't think of anyone who has ever been a WR and a pitcher.

[brettac1]

To me, the best thing about this is not having to hear Notre Dame fans who are also Packers fans say they should draft "The Shark". Most likely, this will be the last we hear of him for a few years, when he is out of baseball and his deal replaces Drew Henson's as the worst "football player given a bunch of money to play baseball" contract.

[RyDogg66]

Cub fans I know are saying Samardzija will help solidify the Cubs rotation in August.

 

God people are dumb.

[endaround]

The thing is those stupid people are the front office of the Cubs. If you include the signing bonus apparently its $10 million over 5 years with two option years at about $3 million each. Which means he must have something in his contract forcing him to be added to the 40 man almost immediately, similar to what Weeks got.

[Mass Haas]

Jeremy Guthrie p

4 year/$4.5M (2003-06)

 

DFA 1/07

 

$2M signing bonus

$2.5M pd over 4 years

drafted 2002

 

Indians designated RHP Jeremy Guthrie for assignment.

Guthrie was out of options and had almost no chance of winning a spot on the Indians this spring. The 27-year-old looks like a poor bet to turn into a major league pitcher, but he still has a pretty good arm and the right pitching coach might get something out of him. It seems unlikely that he'll get through waivers unclaimed.

 

It's rare those deals work for drafted pitchers...

[mothershipconnection]

Do you qualify for the pension if you never make it on a 40 man roster?

If it's a major league deal, he has to be added to the 40-man immediately.

[TheEndless7]

Always thought he seemed like he didn't like getting hit and wouldn't have made a good NFL receiver.

 

At least we know that ND education worked out an he was smart enough to take the money rather than get himself killed playing football. He gets paid, he'll get to play a sport ((barring injury)) and he'll be more likely to be able to walk at age 40!