Bryce Harper is now with the Philadelphia Phillies and his seven seasons with the Washington Nationals are soon to be a distant memory. Harper inked a 13-year deal with the Phillies worth $330 million. That was in lieu of turning down a $300 million, 10-year offer from the Nationals.
Harper explained in his first interview since signing with the Phillies on why he rejected the Nats’ offer. He confirmed that the deal was loaded with deferred money.
Having a $100 million retirement fund doesn’t sound too bad, right? Considering the market Harper was targeting, it was safe to see why he and his agent Scott Boras rejected Washington’s offer.
Now the Nationals will have to see their once pegged franchise player 19 times per season for the next 13 years.
The length of the deal was very important to Harper, according to Boras. No opt-out clauses, just 13 years in Philadelphia. Harper explained in so many words why he signed such a deal.
“During the seven years I spent in DC, all everybody talked about was me going somewhere else,” Harper told ESPN Magazine. “From the day I signed, it was: ‘He’s going to the Yankees’; ‘He’s going to the Dodgers’; ‘He’s going to the Cubs.’ I didn’t want to hear that. I was in that city, and I wanted to be in that city. So now I’m just so happy that I’m able to sit here right now and say I can play until I’m 39 years old and I don’t have someone sitting around the corner saying, ‘He’s going to go here next.'”
ESPN.com
Harper will get to settle down in one city with his wife and family. And he will get the opportunity to torture his former team. Meanwhile, he will be DC’s most hated enemy.
