Not even a month has passed since contract negotiations broke off between the Toronto Blue Jays and star first baseman Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and his representatives. And yet, we&#8217;ve already learned so much about how those talks unfolded leading up to last month&#8217;s deadline of Feb. 18, the club&#8217;s first full-squad workout of spring training. 
On Tuesday, first to report were the <a href="https://nypost.com/2025/03/11/sports/blue-jays-contract-offer-to-vladimir-guerrero-jr-revealed/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">New York Post&#8217;s Jon Heyman and Joel Sherman</a>, outlining <a href="https://publish.bluejaysnation.com/2025/03/11/report-vladimir-guerrero-jr-wanted-500-million-without-deferrals-for-his-next-contract/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">the offer that Toronto made to Guerrero&#8217;s camp</a> of roughly $500 million with significant salary deferrals, reducing the present-day value of the deal to somewhere between $400-$450 million. Shortly afterwards, <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/6194664/2025/03/11/vladimir-guerrero-blue-jays-contract-demand/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Athletic&#8217;s Ken Rosenthal reported</a> the four-time All-Star is seeking a present-day contract worth no less than $500 million, but the total worth of that deal remains unknown.
But wait, there&#8217;s more.
Late Tuesday night, <a href="https://www.sportsnet.ca/mlb/article/blue-jays-and-vladimir-guerrero-jr-hit-deadlock-over-50m-gap/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Sportsnet&#8217;s Shi Davidi reported</a> both sides were stuck on a gap of approximately $50 million in present value involving their final offers ahead of Guerrero&#8217;s negotiations deadline. He also added that the difference between the two offers would&#8217;ve come to $3.571 million per season throughout a 14-year contract.
Less than a week ago, Guerrero spoke to <a href="https://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/44143628/vladimir-guerrero-jr-says-final-offer-600-million-blue-jays-extension-talk" target="_blank" rel="noopener">ESPN&#8217;s Enrique Rojas and Ernesto Jerez</a>, an interview translated from Spanish to English, saying his contract demands weren&#8217;t close to the 15-year, $765-million deal that Juan Soto inked with the New York Mets over the off-season. Toronto&#8217;s slugger also revealed that his demands were under $600 million and that he reduced the number of years he sought.
When the 25-year-old &#8212; who&#8217;ll turn 26 on Sunday &#8212; arrived at the organization&#8217;s player development complex in Dunedin, Fla., for the start of spring training last month, he held court in front of a large scrum of reporters who asked if his camp and the Blue Jays came close to reaching a long-term agreement, <a href="https://www.sportsnet.ca/mlb/article/latest-failure-to-align-on-value-clouds-future-for-guerrero-blue-jays/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">which he replied with a quick, &#8220;No.&#8221;</a>
Later, general manager Ross Atkins questioned the meaning of close, saying it was &#8220;too big of a word to talk specifically about.&#8221; When it was president and CEO Mark Shapiro&#8217;s turn, he put his own spin on the word close, replying, &#8220;There&#8217;s no such thing as close or not close — it&#8217;s done or not done.&#8221;
Close or not close, whatever those terms mean anymore, failing to reach an agreement because of a $50-million gap on a deal in the ballpark of $450-$500 million seems like a huge missed opportunity, both for the Blue Jays and Guerrero.
There&#8217;s more to it than that, of course. We still don&#8217;t know how much Guerrero demanded before deferrals in his counteroffer to Toronto&#8217;s front office. Nor are we aware of how such an extremely complex contract would&#8217;ve been structured over the next decade and a half.
However, in saying all that, failing to reach the finish line due to an amount that, by itself, is significant but is pretty minuscule in reality, involving a contract worth a present-day value of around half a billion dollars. In that context, $50 million, give or take, would essentially amount to a drop in the bucket.
Soto&#8217;s $765-million mega deal doesn&#8217;t include deferrals, standing as the sport&#8217;s richest contract in total dollars and present-day value. Meanwhile, Shohei Ohtani deferred over 97 per cent of his 10-year, $700-million contract, dramatically reducing its present value to roughly $460 million &#8212; a figure Guerrero reportedly aims to surpass.
Given what&#8217;s at stake, mainly for a Blue Jays franchise fast approaching a massive cliff regarding its declining competitive window, it&#8217;d be quite the miscalculation to have a difference of $50 million stand between keeping Guerrero and having him depart in free agency next winter. Still, it&#8217;s tough to ignore the reasonable offer that management made last month.
This front office has historically stood its ground upon submitting its final offer, and the timing of these reported leaks further raises questions about whether both sides would entertain the possibility of returning to the negotiating table &#8212; a fate that likely falls on the 2021 American League MVP runner-up.

Not even a month has passed since contract negotiations broke off between the Toronto Blue Jays and star first baseman Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and his representatives. And yet, we've already learned so much about how those talks unfolded leading up to last month's deadline of Feb. 18, the club's first full-squad workout of spring training. 

On Tuesday, first to report were the <a href="https://nypost.com/2025/03/11/sports/blue-jays-contract-offer-to-vladimir-guerrero-jr-revealed/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">New York Post's Jon Heyman and Joel Sherman</a>, outlining <a href="https://publish.bluejaysnation.com/2025/03/11/report-vladimir-guerrero-jr-wanted-500-million-without-deferrals-for-his-next-contract/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">the offer that Toronto made to Guerrero's camp</a> of roughly $500 million with significant salary deferrals, reducing the present-day value of the deal to somewhere between $400-$450 million. Shortly afterwards, <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/6194664/2025/03/11/vladimir-guerrero-blue-jays-contract-demand/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Athletic's Ken Rosenthal reported</a> the four-time All-Star is seeking a present-day contract worth no less than $500 million, but the total worth of that deal remains unknown.

But wait, there's more.

Late Tuesday night, <a href="https://www.sportsnet.ca/mlb/article/blue-jays-and-vladimir-guerrero-jr-hit-deadlock-over-50m-gap/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Sportsnet's Shi Davidi reported</a> both sides were stuck on a gap of approximately $50 million in present value involving their final offers ahead of Guerrero's negotiations deadline. He also added that the difference between the two offers would've come to $3.571 million per season throughout a 14-year contract.

Less than a week ago, Guerrero spoke to <a href="https://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/44143628/vladimir-guerrero-jr-says-final-offer-600-million-blue-jays-extension-talk" target="_blank" rel="noopener">ESPN's Enrique Rojas and Ernesto Jerez</a>, an interview translated from Spanish to English, saying his contract demands weren't close to the 15-year, $765-million deal that Juan Soto inked with the New York Mets over the off-season. Toronto's slugger also revealed that his demands were under $600 million and that he reduced the number of years he sought.

When the 25-year-old -- who'll turn 26 on Sunday -- arrived at the organization's player development complex in Dunedin, Fla., for the start of spring training last month, he held court in front of a large scrum of reporters who asked if his camp and the Blue Jays came close to reaching a long-term agreement, <a href="https://www.sportsnet.ca/mlb/article/latest-failure-to-align-on-value-clouds-future-for-guerrero-blue-jays/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">which he replied with a quick, "No."</a>

Later, general manager Ross Atkins questioned the meaning of close, saying it was "too big of a word to talk specifically about." When it was president and CEO Mark Shapiro's turn, he put his own spin on the word close, replying, "There's no such thing as close or not close — it's done or not done."

Close or not close, whatever those terms mean anymore, failing to reach an agreement because of a $50-million gap on a deal in the ballpark of $450-$500 million seems like a huge missed opportunity, both for the Blue Jays and Guerrero.

There's more to it than that, of course. We still don't know how much Guerrero demanded before deferrals in his counteroffer to Toronto's front office. Nor are we aware of how such an extremely complex contract would've been structured over the next decade and a half.

However, in saying all that, failing to reach the finish line due to an amount that, by itself, is significant but is pretty minuscule in reality, involving a contract worth a present-day value of around half a billion dollars. In that context, $50 million, give or take, would essentially amount to a drop in the bucket.

Soto's $765-million mega deal doesn't include deferrals, standing as the sport's richest contract in total dollars and present-day value. Meanwhile, Shohei Ohtani deferred over 97 per cent of his 10-year, $700-million contract, dramatically reducing its present value to roughly $460 million -- a figure Guerrero reportedly aims to surpass.

Given what's at stake, mainly for a Blue Jays franchise fast approaching a massive cliff regarding its declining competitive window, it'd be quite the miscalculation to have a difference of $50 million stand between keeping Guerrero and having him depart in free agency next winter. Still, it's tough to ignore the reasonable offer that management made last month.

This front office has historically stood its ground upon submitting its final offer, and the timing of these reported leaks further raises questions about whether both sides would entertain the possibility of returning to the negotiating table -- a fate that likely falls on the 2021 American League MVP runner-up.

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