Joakim Soria Got Paid - FanHouse - AOL Sports Blog

I wasn't around this weekend, so I never had a chance to get to it here, but the Royals and Joakim Soria came to terms on Saturday night for a contract extension. It was a pretty nice birthday present for the Royals closer, as he turned 24 on Sunday, and had a lot of extra spending money to celebrate it.

Soria's deal has three years guaranteed through 2011, but there are also three option years that could put a fat bump in his checking account. The way the deal is structured, Soria stands to make $1 million in 2009, $3 million in 2010, and $4 million in 2011. Still, the deal could get a lot more lucratice for Joakim.

"It's a good deal for Joakim, it's a good deal for the club," [Joakim's agent Oscar] Suarez said. "It's a vesting option [for 2012] and if he does the things I think he can do, it'll vest automatically and the last two years are a straight club option."

According to Suarez, the maximum Soria could receive would be $32,350,000 as a starter or $30,750,000 as a closer. That, of course, is if Soria vests in 2012 and the club picks up the options.

That's a pretty nice chunk of change. I mean, it's not blogger money, but it's good money none the less.

This deal is also good news for a lot of the Royals other young talent, because the signing shows that the Royals are willing to invest money in their young talent for once, instead of just watching it walk away when it's starting to reach it's peak.