Your last paragraph, I think, is a bit off base. The Brewers could sign Yelich to a 7-year, $225 million extension that wouldn't cripple the franchise. * $15 million bonus over 2020, 2021, and 2022. * $210 million over the next 7 years * $90 million of that is deferred - to be paid out over the 30 years after the extension ($3 million/year) * That leaves an average salary of $17.143 million over those seven years. Or, slightly above the $16 million AAV that LoCain currently has. That is a non-albatross deal, and it keeps Yelich in Milwaukee through 2029. Your scenario counts on Yelich settling for that type of money, even when he sees the $300M plus contracts being handed out by other teams. Plus would he want to deferr that huge amount of money over that great amount of time? More likely than not, he and his agent laugh at the "low-ball" offer and he becomes a FA headed to the highest bidder.