Milwaukee Brewers' Ryan Braun Signs 5-Year $105 Million Contract Extension

The Milwaukee Brewers today signed 27-year-old outfielder Ryan Braun to a five-year contract extension which will make him only one of two MLB players signed through 2020, the other being the Colorado Rockies' Troy Tulowitzki.

According to Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, the extension is for a total of $105 million, including a $10 million signing bonus.

Braun's base salary for 2016-2018 will be $19 million per season with $18 million and $16 million in 2019 and 2020 respectively. Also contained in the contract is a $21 million mutual option in 2021 with a $4 million club buyout.

There is also a no-trade clause included as well.

For all those people that have incessantly talked over the past year or so about Ryan Braun being arrogant, too "Hollywood," not a team player and running Ken Macha out of town, I say choke on this:

*Braun has agreed to defer a portion of his salary, so the Brewers have more working capital to help keep the team in a position to continue to be competitive.

*Braun is also playing out his original contract extension during which time he will continue to be underpaid just as he is right now.

*Ryan Braun is the present and future of the Milwaukee Brewers.

This contract is the largest in Milwaukee Brewers franchise history and it's not even close. Giving a player a yearly salary averaging $21 million from 2016-2020 is a bit of a gamble for the Brewers.

I think Ryan Braun has already shown us that he's good for it.

Can a Shaun Marcum extension be far behind?