Mariners CF Ichiro Suzuki's new five-year contract extension "calls for the team to defer" $25M of the $90M he is owed, which the team "will not have to fully pay until at least 2032," according to Ronald Blum of the AP. Ichiro gets a $5M signing bonus and annual salaries of $17M, of which he will receive $12M each year and defer $5M at 5.5% interest. He will receive the money in annual installments each January 30 starting the year after he retires. Ichiro also gets a $32,000 housing allowance next year, up $1,000 from this year, and the amount will increase by $1,000 each year. He will also be provided with either a new Jeep or Mercedes SUV, as well as four first-class round-trip tickets from Japan each year for his family ( AP, 7/18 ). One agent who was not involved in the deal said the deferred money is "a very club-friendly way to do it. On Ichiro's part, that's a very generous thing to do." In Seattle, David Andriesen notes that while the Mariners "are theoretically setting aside $5[M] each of the next five years, they don't have to actually put it into escrow or produce it. All they have to do is come up with money ... when it's due." The agent: "It allows them to spread that money out and invest the money in other players in upcoming budgets. I think the front office is being very innovative" ( SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER, 7/19 ).
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