Clayton Kershaw signed what amounted to a one-year extension of his current contract, with a little salary relief for the Dodgers in the next two years:

Kershaw, 30, had two years and $65 million remaining on the seven-year, $215-million deal he signed with the Dodgers in January 2014, when he was coming off his second Cy Young season. He was scheduled to make $32 million next season and $33 million in 2020. In restructuring his contract to cover another year, he will receive an additional $28 million guaranteed, plus potential bonuses.

The Dodgers officially announced the agreement a short time after what had been a 1 p.m. deadline for Kershaw to decide to play out the final two years of his contract or opt out and become a free agent.

Kershaw averaged 4.9 WAR over the last three seasons. Since the Dodgers should expect a decline given Kershaw’s age, they should be paying for about 13.4 WAR, or about $6.9 million per WAR. If teams are now paying about $8 million per WAR for free agents, Kershaw left about $14 million on the table. On the other hand, he can spend the winter knowing he and his family are set for another three years, and he’ll be pitching where he wants to pitch. It’s a good deal for both sides, and I’m sure it makes Dodgers fans very happy.