Hawks/Morales finally announce an agreement.(42.23)

[niles08]

The on-again/off-again, will he/won’t he, love/hate extravaganza that the Omaha Hawks and Emilio Morales have each participated in this season finally appears to have written its final chapter and the book can be closed.

We won’t go into details regarding all the drama, instead, we will just report what the final result was which is all that matters.

Morales and the Hawks mutually announced that they have agreed upon a contract that will pay Morales $70,780,000 over the next 6 seasons.

This contract extension will likely secure the fact that Morales, who has his name at the top of most of the franchise batting records, will spend his entire career with the Hawks as the contract will run out when Morales is 39 years of age.

“We’re glad we could get a deal done with Emilio for our fans. He is a favorite of Hawk Nation for a reason and a very clear reason. We cringed at the thought of seeing him suit up elsewhere. Now, Emilio can and always will call Omaha home.” Said GM Justin Niles.

Like his previous 6 year pact that paid him $140,000,000 with the Hawks that was signed nearly to the day in August of 2036, there are incentives and bonuses tied into this contract. Not only does Morales get a full no-trade clause, but he also will make an extra $2,500,000 each season he reaches 500 plate appearances, something he has done every season while in the BBA. He will also be paid $1,250,000 if he is selected to be an all-star, something he has done 5 times. In addition, he will make $2,500,000 if he is selected as the Sawyer Silk winner, an award he has been the runner up several times in his career for.

The contract is semi front-loaded with Morales set to make $14.63 million next season (about $1 million less than this season) and drops by $1,000,000 until 2047 when it drops down by $2,000,000 when his salary is $9,630,000. At the age of 39 in 2048, he will make $8,630,000 and at that point in time potentially be the BBA’s all-time career home run leader or be chasing that spot.

So all in all, this $70,000,000 deal likely will pay Morales at least an additional $15,000,000 from his plate appearance incentive alone, making this a 6 year $85,000,000 contract.

A contract that may be risky, even considering $70,000,000 for a 33-year-old player currently going through the worst season of his career. His 1.0 WAR this season, dwarfs even last seasons 3.8 WAR which raised eyebrows by itself. Morales has graded out as a below-average player this season at the plate despite his 36 home runs, which if it stands would be a 10 year low for Morales in balls hit out of the park.

[RonCo]

It's good to see the pair kiss and make up. For all the heartache, Morales needs to be in Omaha.