Chipper, Braves Make Extension Official

Chipper Jones and Atlanta were rumored last night to be working on an extension that would make the third baseman and Atlanta lifer a Brave for the rest of his career.

And according to MLB.com (and my handy Braves.com email alert, which is apparently just four hours behind the news), they have agreed on a deal that will extend Jones until 2012, which is set to be announced today at 2:30 PM ET.

Word on the street is that Jones and the team agreed to a three-year deal with a vesting option for a fourth year, with the sum total reaching upwards of $61 million ($42 of which is guaranteed).

"This contract ensures that Chipper will play his whole career as a Brave, which was a key factor for us, our fans and for Chipper," [GM Frank] Wren said in a statement. "Chipper has been an outstanding performer with our club for a long time and he is still a key part of our team."

The vesting option relates to playing time (a pretty good gamble on the club's part), and "if Jones plays in 123 games in 2012 or if he plays in an average of 127 games during the 2011 and 2012 seasons" he'll receive $9 million for the 2013 season. There's a team option for that year in the amount of $7 million if Jones doesn't meet the playing time requirements, in addition to an annual $3 million signing bonus over the next three years as well as a slew of other incentive-laden bonuses.

The bottom line, though, is that Wren recognized the need to have Chipper retire as a Brave, for both the sake of having him perform for the team as well as fan goodwill, and made it happen with a pretty lucrative deal.