I kept seeing two figures thrown around last night about the Bryce Harper deal. It turns out one was the signing bonus, $6.5 6.25 million, and the other was the major league contract of $4.65 million, bringing the total close to $10 million.

Harper’s deal is a record total for a non-pitcher signed out of the draft who had not become a free agent. Current New York Yankees first baseman Mark Teixeira set the previous record for a major league deal for a position player, getting a $9.5 million, four-year deal from the Texas Rangers in 2001. Teixeira, too, is represented by Boras.

I pretty much assume Boras wanted $10 million, and the Nationals wanted to come in below that. So the Nats get a moral victory in the negotiation. 🙂 Boras, too, gets a victory as he breaks his own record. I suppose both sides could have decided this is where the winning point was back in June, and Bryce could have played two month of minor league baseball already. Maybe Mike Rizzo and Scott Boras like each other so much, they want the negotiations to drag on forever!

Update: The signing bonus was $6.25 million.