I say we sit down with Albert and hand him a blank check and say, “We want you to be a Cardinal for life. You know what kind of money we are working with. Fill in what you think is fair.” Albert is a reasonable guy, he isn’t just after the money, he’ll want the team to be able to compete. Either that or we give him a contract smaller than A-Rod and finish off the deal by giving him 5-10% team ownership after he is done playing. That’s a fair deal.

I’m pretty sure it would violate MLB rules for him to get a share of the team, at least while he’s still playing.

You offer him Chesterfield. All of it. If he balks at that, give him Ladue, with an option for Town & Country.

Give him 1/2 of Illinois and all of Missouri, in other words, whatever it takes. Once in a lifetime players require once in a lifetime contracts.

I like where your head is at donthate. The Cardinals have to think outside the box on this one.

I see an interesting thread starting here. What kind of equity can Albert get? Ownership of the Cardinals? How about Ballpark Village? How about Kauffman Stadium? (he owns it anyway) Pujols Field has a nice ring to it…

I would say no more than $2.3 Billion to keep Mr. Pujols here in St. Louis. Without professional sports, this city would be nothing .

What if we got some sort of economist on the sports page to adjust ARod’s deal by cost of living (NYC to STL)? I understand this isn’t how it works with agents in negotiations and that CEOs and ballplayers don’t get paid in accordance with the markets they live in (while the rest of us do). I just think it would be interesting to note the difference and let these guys know how much further their $’s go in the midwest.

The cardinals have him under contract for the next two years and after the next one offer him 4-5 years at 25-28 million per year with the last year being a club option. If he leaves we would all be sad but we do have him for the next two years regardless. Clubs sometimes lose out when signing young players we hit the jackpot with Pujols last contract no reason to walk away from that right now.

Word up! Bernie’s answer is exactly right- end of story.

I would think that the “whatever it takes” crowd is on the right track, but I’d assume that “whatever” might include a ticket price hike.

I think everyone in St. Louis can thank God that Albert isn’t represented by Boras.

I think what makes this so interesting is that so many of us think with the mindset of “make the most money we can…” And so many athletes play with this mindset… However, unless Albert has us all goofed, he has stated so many things to the contrary. My prediction is that Albert shocks everyone and takes something under 20mil. He has an opportunity to make quite a statement doing something like that, essentially saying “It’s not about me, but about winning… I want my team to win, so I’ll put my monetary desires aside so that we can sign good players”…

I only hope he does this sooner, rather than later, so that the FO can rest easy and feel safe spending large dollars on the premium talent that wouldn’t have that same view…

That’s what Albert’s public statements have lead me to believe… I hope he stays true to them…

OK Cards INCREASE payroll by 20%. Re-sign Matt Holliday ,Mark DeRosa and Joel Pinero and sign another ACE John Lackey and Albert will certainly sign with a home town discount. With that kind of team Albert would be assured of competing for a WS ring every year. The Cards can afford it so why not make the Cardinals the National League Yankees? Nobody has more WS trophies in the NL than us.

You tailor as big a contract as possible for his playing career, but you make the main part of the contract addressing his non-playing years. Pretty much whatever he wants to do with the club after he retires from playing, whether it be managing or some administrative position. Basically, you ask him what he wants and make it happen.

1/2 billion dollars for 15 years; bargain!!!

Even as emotionally tied as we are to Albert Pujols the only reasonable thing to do would be to offer him fair market value as the best firstbaseman in the league ( compared to existing contracts of others at the time ). If he accepts, great!! If not, let him walk. The Cardinals existed long before Albert Pujols was originally signed. The injury risk is so great ( Mulder, Glaus, etc. ). If the financial investment that you have in one player, regardless of who he is makes you so financially strapped that you cannot improve your team when needed, then is it really worth it?

I have a thought which may seem less far fetched. Why don’t we sign Albert to a lifetime 20 million dollar contract plus incentives (which would be a huge discount). Then ontop of that we offer to pay the Pujols family charity 5 million a year during the time he is playing (which would be wise for the ownership group considering charity donations wouldn’t count against the payroll and is a tax write off). Then boosting the charity contribution to 10 million for another 10 years after he retires. I bet Albert would jump on this aspect of the deal. This would also keep the Cards payroll competitive so they can continuous put a playoff team around Albert and in 20 years that type of money would not be a big deal.

How much should the Cardinals pay to keep Albert Pujols a Cardinal for life? This is a rhetorical question, right?

the question isn’t how much will it take to keep Albert, the question is how much DeWitt will allow to be spent…if it was up to mo, he would push over the blank check…good ol Bill likes preaching that we are poor when infact we are not. Either Bill coughes up the dough for Albert and some perinneal all-stars to flank him out there, or Albert walks…simple..So Mr DeWitt…Albert is giving you all 1 year to prove that you are investing in the future of this team through more than just a pretty good farm system..when albert sees the contracts for some winning help at key positions he will agree to a more “reasonable” contract with a lot of incentives geared out over a long stretch…

Couldn’t agree more, curiou$… the taxes in the bronx are substantially higher than in the lou

Lifetime Cardinals fan here. My first words were probably “Whiteyball” and “That’s a winner!” Transplanted to Pittsburgh, but my office at work is festooned with Cardinals stuff.

I say all that to say this: I would probably be turned off if the Cards lowball AP5. Personally, I like the blank check approach best. Open the team’s books for Albert and his agents, to show total good faith. Then say, “We want you here for life. You know our numbers, and you know you want to be on a perennial winner. Tell us what you think is fair.”

Now, if the Mets or Red Sox or somebody offer this guy $300 million over 10 years or some other insane deal, no one can be mad if he leaves. But if the Cardinals try to come in, say, under the Teixeira deal in any way, shape or form - or if they try to string him out past this season - then I say we meet in Kiener Plaza with torches and pitchforks, and head straight to the team offices.

For those saying the Cardinals are bigger than Albert…that may be true. But Jesus H. Christ! Think about the company he has in team lore now. I agree that Musial is still “The Greatest Cardinal”, and Hornsby is either 1A or 1B, depending on how heavily you value certain stats. But Pujols is clearly, obviously in that discussion. And considering just how great the Rajah and The Man were, you now have to consider Albert Pujols as not just ANY Cardinal…but rather, the Cardinal who will define an entire era in team history. He IS the franchise - hell, the team doesn’t win the division if his bat doesn’t carry them in the first half.

Re-sign him. Break the freaking bank. Offer him all of downtown, from Laclede’s to Union Station, if you have to. But GET HIM SIGNED.

Jeff Gordon, you are a idiot 100%. You want to offer Pujols $5mil less than Tex and make him play 1 year longer. If that offer were made to Albert I would expect him to walk and not even listen to any further discussion from the putz that came up with the idea. I suggest the Post Dispatch modify your contract and offer you $8.50 per hour and only pay you when you are actually writing an article that isn’t idiotic. Good idea, hey Albert … we think you are almost as good as Texeira. Maybe someday we might mention you and A-Rod in the same paragraph (not the same sentence though). Or is it we’re too poor. Gimmee a break. The rest of you guys are on the right track. Creative financing as Derrick suggest may be the best idea(second to keeping Gordon away from any discussions of course). Rolling Eyes!

How about this idea. The Abert Pujols Gateway Arch. Has a nice ring to it.

Too bad we can not toss him an AB Distributorship or two like Ozzie got. But DeWitt could give him all of the Arbys in California for post baseball income.

Nice Job BMR! Good Post! Ditto! The intangibles Albert brings as well as his talent allow for this franchise to be where it has been in this decade. So the 2000’s are not the 1950’s or the 1970’s.

Hey Average Joe, ever heard of a typo?

Teixeira signed an 8-year contract, so it should read “one year less than Mark Teixeira got from the Yankees.”

$180/8 = $22.5M (Teixeira)
$175/7 = $25M (Pujols)

I really like Bernie’s answer! For the love of Pete, do whatever it takes… sign him… forever. Let him be part owner of the team, give him the key to the city, whatever… Just do it!!! Albert will become the greatest player to have played the game by the time his playing days are over. What it would mean for the Cardinals in terms of marketing (while playing AND after) and getting players to come to St. Louis (while playing AND after) are immeasurable. Not since Roberto Clemente has there been a man of this much talent AND virtue.

BringAnkielBack - great answer. Give him the blank check. He’s a man of integrity. It won’t be more then what he thinks is fair.

What insight.

Get a real job.

I like the idea of the Pujols charity option. Perhaps increase St. Louis Pujols Children’s Hospital budget over the years. Man, what would Augie do?

Maybe Albert’s Arch.

Here’s an idea, give the Prince $120 million a year. Then allow him to decide who he wants to play around him and he can allocate that money to the rest of the team and keep what he wants. I’ll bet he’d wind up with a pretty competitive team!

Albert is huge to STL and the surrounding metro area. What does he mean to STL business? What does he mean to the STL economy? He should be considered as important as any business entity we would work to save from moving from this community. He’s bigger to all of us than the STL Cardinals could pay him. His global reputation is infinately tied to STL now and for the next 50 years if he remains a lifetime Cardinal. What’s it worth to you? Us? Contributions from most civic AND private institutions should be in order. US Bank, open that “Save Albert Pujols Fund” and I’m sure the average STL citizen would gladly invest in the most valuable asset/ambassador we’ve had in a couple generations!

Let’s just pour concrete over him and stand him up in front of the stadium - until they tear it down to build a new one.

How did this city ever survive without pujols?

Maybe Inbev will develop Albeer.

We give him the Arch, the revenue from all the casinos and just for the heck of it, let’s talk InBev into giving him AB, just for old times sake. And then make him lifetime mayor of the city.

Give him a bigger contract that the biggest MLB contract not offered by Yankees.

Yea, like making 16 million a year must really suck.

How about 1/5 ownership of the franchise (upon retirement), with a reduced salary. That would top anybody else in history.

The owners should raise all ticket prices by 20% and pay it entirely to pujols. the fools will still come in droves—probably more so, to see the 30 million dollar plus man—and he will have earned it.

An alternative—or maybe in addition—would be for the city and county to tax all residents for the privilege of living in the same region that pujols deigns to call his home—but not his country—sometimes, and pay it to him. If he is truly as valuable to the economic well-baing of this region as so many fanatics seem to believe—how utterly pathetic—he will deserve it, and of course it will be necessary. Maybe the danforth foundation can contribute as well, or at least enshrine him as a public monument.

Personally if I were a billionaire owner and wanted to keep Pujols for the franchise, I would do ‘whatever it takes’.

Offer to give Pujols 25 million a year plus the opportunity to replace Bud Selig with anyone he wants, including himself.

Pujols is great, but no one is worth this much jack. Exactly why I only watch high school sports. To pay him this, your watered down brew will cost $20. Enjoy St Louis.

What is the difference between God and Boras? God doesn’t think he is Boras!

he needs a haircut.

A lifetime supply of Ted Drewes concretes. How could anyone walk away from THAT offer??? Let $teinbrenner try and top that.

Better yet, maybe Ted can name a concrete after Albert… The Phat Albert, or The Prince Albert, something gooey and irresistible, and with each sale Ted could donate 10% to The Pujols Foundation. He couldn’t leave after that offer. There, Bill and Ted, I’ve set it up for ya, wheels are in motion, go sign him.

It would not matter if the team received an Obama stimulus package. You are missing the point. Albert wants to contend for a title, year in and year out. He’s not concerned about the money, really. That’s not to say he wants to be short-changed and disrespected. But given his comments about not caring when his contract is done, given that as a devout Christian he was openly lobbying last spring for bad-boy Manny Ramirez to be signed, the Cardinals are missing the message. Pujols wants a strong team around him. If the Cards don’t sign Holliday and perhaps DeRosa, if they continue to play dumpster dive and rookie ball games while conserving cash for Mr. Pujols, they may find they have plenty of money because Mr. Pujols will have decided he’s moving on. If they sign others, Mr. Pujols will cooperate on the next contract.

donthate, I don’t care who you are that was funny.

I live in New York, but am a life long, die hard Cardinal fan and Yankee hater. Albert should be paid whatever it takes to keep him a Cardinal. He will eventually share the same pedistal as Stan the Man. I would be so depressed if he were to become a Yankee or Met. My life would be miserable!!!

Interesting comments and great fodder for thought. BM and Wheeler took the easy way out… “Whatever it Takes”. DG for all his words took the same ploy by never stating an actual predicated amount for AP. That is totally unrealistic and dodges the question all together. You might disagree with Gordo, but at least they made an honest effort to answer.

That said, all of my fellow fans should be careful what they wish for per their comments. AP is indeed a unique gift. And certainly worth top dollar, BUT St. Louis is a (upper) mid-market team with an owner reluctant to go much past 100 million in payroll. Unless we want a one man circus event for baseball, IF the Cards sign AP I believe our cap would be around the 23 - 25 million range max and even that might be problematic. Anything beyond that, and we should honestly (gulp) trade him before he hits the market…. for the very same reason we want to sign him, he is a a once in a lifetime unique gift (that other teams will covet immensely).

I don’t like saying that any more than the rest of you, but the Cards are not the Fed. They can’t print money out of nowhere. Ultimately whatever AP gets either takes away from other positions or us the fans’ pocket books.

This has to be viewed as a business decision. The potential return on keeping Pujols for his entire career is ENORMOUS. In 10 years from now he will be on the verge of breaking every MLB record. The FO has to know this. They have already built him a stadium to be his stage for becomming the greatest player ever (similar to how San Fran built one for Barry when they knew he was going to win multiple MVPs on the way to breaking the HR record…). The initial cash outlay is not an issue when considering the long-term return on investment.

No payment necessary. he’s our lord and saviour. simply accept him into your heart, body and soul.

I understand the economic arguments that Matt and others make. And I understand why Matt says that Miklasz and Wheeler took the “easy way” in answering the forum question.

I respectfully disagree on all counts. I think “whatever it takes” is not only the correct answer, it’s the ONLY answer. And re-signing Albert Pujols, regardless of ultimate cost, is a very easy proposition when you consider the overwhelmingly positive intangibles.

First, I know you want to avoid paying a guy escalating salary as he’s on the downside of his career. But what evidence is there that Pujols is on the way down? Take any one of his nine seasons, repeat it over a ten-year career, and you can clear space at Cooperstown. How ridiculously, consistently, mind-numbingly good is THAT?

Oh, and he’s still 29. That’s just SICK.

Moreover, you’re not just talking about the best player. You’re talking about the leader of the team, and the face of the franchise. You’re talking about a guy who won the 2008 MVP playing WITH ONE ARM most of the season. Listen to what the best players in baseball say when they describe Pujols. That should tell you all you need to know.

Look at his potential for bringing in free agents. He was a major factor for both Holliday and DeRosa. And, looky looky, here comes Roy Halladay, leaving the Jays because he wants to play for a winning team. Gee, wonder if his old teammate Chris Carpenter could use a locked-up AP as a selling point. Quick, someone calculate how many more wins Halladay might be worth than Kyle Lo(h)se.

Then there’s Pujols’s importance to the community. This guy brings tremendous value to the city of St. Louis. Look at the hours and effort he put into the All-Star Game when it was at Busch. Look at his charitable efforts and the consistently stellar example he provides for young men of all races and backgrounds. Look at the respect and admiration he commands almost universally in the world of baseball. There’s no dollar amount you can attach to the goodwill he brings to the franchise. And that goodwill translates to ad dollars, merchandising, and attracting marquee free agents.

I think Pujols would be happy making $20-25 million a year, knowing that his team was making a strong commitment to winning. He might even take, say, 6-8 years, $120-200MM, and the Cardinals agree to donate $1MM a year to the Pujols Family Foundation for the rest of AP’s natural life. Or maybe some sort of deal for a slice of the team after retirement. Perhaps the Eagleton Building. Whatever.

They have to get creative. And it’s going to take about 5 rafts of lawyers to decipher this contract fully. As long as Albert’s signature eventually ends up on the last page, I won’t care.

Give him a big check and then figure out how many Cal Ripken-like little league complexes we can afford to build in the Dominican Republic. If you’ve never seen the Ripken complex in Maryland, it is worth a trip. Albert is all about charity. Let’s meet him where his heart is.

resign holliday, glaus, and sign ben sheets and xavier nady. for next year i would suggest pujols, carp, waino, molina, and miller. give all these guys long-term contracts and fill in the rest with minor leaguers. They can make it work!

It is pretty simple here, give him percentage of ownership.

First off let me say I am a lifelong Cardinal Fan. I grew up in West Central Illinois where there is a mix a Cardinal and Cub fans and went to many games as a kid. I agree, that Albert probably a once in a lifetime type of player, atleast my lifetime now that I am almost 40, but I think that the salaries are so incredibly ridiculous it has almost turned me off of baseball all together. Now, the players are not the only ones to blame; no collective bargaining agreement, owners, big market tv contracts, agents, and so on have added to the mix. REMEMBER PEOPLE, ONE PLAYER NO MATTER HOW GREAT HE IS IS NEVER WORTH IT! Atleast not until baseball and the players union agree there is proper revenue sharing. The Yankees just bought another pennant. Is that what the fans want year after year. I don’t. I will agree with everybody; how much I would love to see Albert finish his career as a Cardinal. At the very best I would offer $25 Million for four years, with an option for a fifth. Players who are not on PED’s should, like the years of old fall of by age 34. By then he would still be a really good player, but not worth $300 million. That is just INSANE. Mr. Pujols you can’t have it both ways. If you want to win, win as a Cardinal and be adored for the rest of your life by the greatest fans in baseball then take less, so the club can stay competitive and you can add some more rings. If that is what it is truly about. I am sorry if you can’t live with $25 million dollars a year to play a game that all of us would play for a very, very small fraction of that than I say thanks for the memories, hope you go into the hall of fame as a Cardinal and we will trade you for eight to ten other prospects and you can play for the Yankees. Of all the greats in baseball no one player won every game, pitched every pitch, made every out, scored every run, and so on. I remember hearing a story about STAN the MAN when I was a kid that there was talk about making him the highest paid player, at least in the national league, and Stan said I don’t deserve it. You can pay me that money when I am the best player in baseball and he gave back 10K, so that he would be the second highest paid player. Now Albert might be the best, but we need more of that type of attitude. If he displays that he will never have to worry about money again. That would be priceless.

As usual, Mr. Miklasz has distilled this debate to it’s purest, simplest form.

Why don’t the Cardinals invite the fans to buy stock in the club? We raise enough money to outspend everyone! Pujols would be ours forever, with enough money to sped on support palayers.

Doesn’t this guy ever take off his helmet?

You offer him everything but the RAMS, Because who would want them they suck

I’ll send Albert $10 a year to stay. It may not sound like much, but I have 3,400,000,000 friends who might help.

Bernie: Easy (copout) answer.

A more relevant question now might be how much for Holliday. Pujols is already signed, and building a championship team around just Pujols and a couple star pitchers won’t work. Sign Holliday if you can and then worry (as you sport scribes do) about Pujols later.

I like the blank check idea, we need to keep Pujols. It would be heartbreaking to see him in another uniform.

Thanks, Jason. What you said at 3:23 pm on November 24th is a good statement. To expand on that: Let’s use the blank check procedure. It will tell us something about the type of man Albert is, and it will provide him with a good response to anyone who questions why the Cards are paying him what they are paying him: “Because that’s what I asked them to pay me.”

Elite players at Albert Pujols level care only about 2 things
winning and getting paid. You may think that he loves St Louis
and that they money does not mean that much to him, but if you
are one of the best players ever to play the game and yet you
are only the 34th highest paid player in the game, it matters,
so if you think that he could or should take a hometown discount
you are mistaken. If he is as good as A-Rod, why should he
be paid a penny less?

do not lock him up for life, bad move. i would go a 3 year deal, tops. then, trade him for a couple stud arms and a younger bomber…..better to deal him too early, than too late.

I’d ask the big boys in Washington, their great at the big, big numbers - seriously hand Albert’s wife the checkbook and ask her what she needs to be happy.A happy wife usually means peace at home and a happy husband, happy husbands hit long balls.

Don’t let him walk but be willing to trade him (preferably trade him to the Yankees ),for some good players, if a realistic contract can’t be signed.

Contract wise? Say 25 million a year for 6 years. Remember, Albert’s production will start falling off in a few years. Age is a respecter of no one~!

Paying him 25 million a year when he’s 38 and batting .260 with 15 homers and 70 rbi’s would be an embarrassment both to him(not that he wouldn’t cash the checks), and the Cardinals…
Look folks, get a grip, he’s arguably,(assuming his elbow recovers), the best players in baseball. But so what…. We didn’t even get out of the first round of the playoffs with Albert this year. What did, (or should) that tell you?

Look at the Yankees and all the huge talent they have. It was 9 years for them to win another World Series on a 230 million a year payroll.

What does that tell you? Think about it. It tells me it’s a team sport with a lot of luck thrown in to get to the World Series! Albert’s just one man…

to Curious…

Employers in St. Louis, MO typically pay 15.7% less than employers in New York, NY. Therefore, if you take the same type of job in the same type of company in St. Louis, MO you are likely to earn $22,771,513.

I think Albert knows that the St. Louis fans are the most kind, loyal and devoted fans in baseball. As you travel around America you can see a “sea of red” wherever the Cardinals are playing. At home the fans treat the players more respectful than any other major league team. For such a small metropolitan area the Cardinal Fans really support their team. A Rod may make a boat load of money but Yankee fans are brutal. When you are talking about 20, 25, 30, 35 million bucks a year …which number is enough? Which number makes a human happy? Fifty years from now these numbers will be chump change. Just look at Stan Musial’s salary. If the St. Louis Cardinals ownership keeps the Cardinals competitive I think Albert would rather stay put. It is a conversation Albert will have with God on what to do with his life, money, and family. Albert is a good man. He will make the right decision. I support whatever decision he chooses. He IS the greatest baseball player ever! I hope he chooses to stay a ST. LOUIS CARDINAL!

I think the contract should be structured so that Albert gets around 20 million a year, for 9 years (this includes next year and his option year). However, what I think should also be in the contract is that the team is required to have a minimum payroll of $110 million. This figure is based on their usual $100 million payroll and an additional $10 million for what Pujols should get in addition every year. This shows a commitment to winning. In the event the Cardinal’s payroll ever falls below $110 million, then they would be required to give the difference up to the $10 million to Pujols.

Arod’s average salary of $27.5M in NYC would be about (adjusted for cost of living) $13.5M in St. Louis.

http://www.bestplaces.net/COL/

Check it out put in current as NYC and compare with STL and thats what it spits out

i say holiday is the key.go all out and sign him, let the two of them win WS rings and then come at Albert with a contract. if he says NO then trade him for the Tampa Bay Rays…

Trade him! Trade him right now to NYY or Boston for players, cash and prospects. We could put this team in position to dominate for decades. Think of having quality, youth and the cash to hold them at every position. That my freinds is Pujols true value.

Give him season tickets on the 50 yard line to the Rams and a lifetime gift certificate to the Magic House.

Everyone mentions what he means to this city, but look at how much he means to baseball as a whole. He is the last crusader left to fight against the Steroids Era of baseball… and he is doing it in a Cardinal uni. This decade of baseball is marred with cheating and lies and the one superstar who hasn’t fallen is Pujols. Why wouldn’t you do whatever was necessary to keep someone who should go down in history as one of, if not THE, greatest player ever. And on top of that, who did it the right way in the face of such a dark time in baseball.

Make him the highest paid player in baseball. He IS the best so pay him as the best. Start sculpting his statue now. Start preparing the invitation list for his Hall of Fame party. Sign his son before he gets away. Buy his wife the Hope Diamond. Buy him the Rams….er never mind. Don’t want to chase him out of town. PAY HIM MORE THAN AROD.

What if he were to be offered a player/coach position? I’m sure that Albert would love that position, probably doing a very good job at it as well, seeing how much he spends time studying opposing teams. And as soon as he retires, just be full time manager. Could work since Tony only has so much left with his age.

I’ve thought long and hard about this. I think we should start by offering something like this: 220 million guaranteed, 10 years. 10 million dollar bonus if he wins the triple crown. 5 million dollar bonus for each MVP he wins. 1 million a year to the charity of his choice (he’ll like that). 2 million extra every year he reaches 100 RBI’s, 1 million extra for batting .300 and playing at least 140 games, etc…I think it may cost more guaranteed money than this, and thats fine, but I think that if we start by offering anything less than this it would be an insult. We can’t pay Holliday more than Albert. Let’s be honest, Albert deserves to have potentially the richest contract in baseball history. Something structured like that would probably stand to pay Albert 24-30 million a year (30 if he has an MVP year), which is market value. Knock on wood, he’s been slump proof and injury proof. But he might not be able to do this for 10 more years. It’s conceivable that he could keep being this ridiculously good for another 6 or 7. But when he’s 37 or 38 years old, he may not be a 30 million dollar guy anymore. We have to reward this guy and keep him here for the rest of his career, but we have to avoid a bidding war that could cripple the Cardinals 10 years from now. Because if we come to Albert with too cheap an initial offer and he decides to test the market at all, I guarantee that the Yankees or some other team will offer him 35 million a year. The Cardinals best chance to win another World Series is going to be in the immediate future if we have a relatively young Holliday and Pujols and good pitching.

Give him a blank check, give him ownership when he retires, name the stadium after him. Whatever it takes. Unless he completely tanks (not gonna happen for Albert) or gets hurt (a possibility for any player) in the next two years, you give him whatever he wants. Losing Pujols would be hard, if not impossible to recover from. If the Cards lose Pujols it will affect ticket sales and interest in the team for years to come.

First its time for ownership to anti up and secure 10 to 15 million a year to payroll for the duration of Pujols playing career in St. Louis and if the fans need to absorb some to most of the costs, so be it! Pujols salary should not exceed 20 percent of the entire club payroll. You can’t win without pitching so money needs to be available for your 1 & 2 starting pitchers followed by another strong bat. Offer Pujols 20 to 22 million a year for 8 year plus a 2 year mutual option, 1 to 3 percent of ownership or ticket sales based on performance incentives and the opportunity to be the greatest Cardinal of all-time. Not good enough? Then go to New York and be another Yankee and maybe they’ll have a spot in left field or DH, as the jobs are filled at first and third or if he’s up to a challenge go across town and see if he can refocus the Mets. Like most Cardinal fans, I hope neither of the later two options would happen, however ownership needs to maintain a cost-efficient operation with its remaining 24 players.

Lifetime contract. After he retires, works for the team in some capacity. Offer a small % of the team after he retires as a Cardinal.
Whatever it takes.

They should tax all the churches for praying to the wrong God! In Pujols we trust.

Heres an idea, we all know how cheep Cards front office is! Lets take up a collection from Cardinal fans and help with paying Albert. I know it is not our job but I am in to make sure he is a Cardinal for life. It would be a sad day to see him suit up in another uniform.

Do u think Albert is going to go to the big apple just for money,NO he isnt he is going to be a lifetime cardinal because he loves this team and it’s close to his family

Give him what ever he asks and then some. then give him more. Plus a statue later next to Stan the man in front of the stadium. God forbid you let that man walk, and I don’t mean to First base.

Just thought you guys would be interested in a comment from the espn.com Power Rankings from Week 11 of 2003.

Week 11 36-33 15 Tony LaRussa says Albert Pujols is the best player he’s ever managed. We disagree. Ever hear of a guy named McGwire?

And now all espn can do is praise Albert and knock Mark. How do you like me now?

10 Years $250 Million. To quote Charles Barkley - “Anything less, would be uncivilized”.

can’twaittil2012 sure is willing to have Bill DeWitt spend his money because “we” aren’t broke. Give me a break. The reason Mr. DeWitt owns the Cards and has money to invest in players is becaasue he doesn’t liten to cretins.