TORONTO — About 10 minutes after the formal ceremony to announce a contract extension that will keep him in Canada for 14 more years, Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and his extended family made their way to centre field at the Rogers Centre. The group was about two dozen deep, including Guerrero’s wife, Nathalie, and 8-year-old daughter, Vlaimel. Wearing his No. 27 Blue Jays jersey over pink dress pants, the $500 million man posed for photos with his closest people.
You could not miss the symbolism: This was Vladimir Guerrero Jr’s house.
The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal previously reported that the contract extension is worth $500 million over 14 years and includes a $325 million signing bonus. Guerrero will receive the remaining $175 million in salary. Both the bonus and salary will be distributed in varying annual amounts over the 14-year term of the deal.
Guerrero, 26, said Monday that he appreciated the support from the fan base and how his family has been treated in Canada. He said he looked at the Blue Jays not as an organization but as a family. (Admittedly, your family would look a lot better if they dropped $500 million on you too.) Guerrero was born in Montreal while his father, Hall of Famer Vladimir Guerrero Sr., played for the Expos.
“I spend a lot of time here in Toronto and Canada, you know,” Guerrero said. “When the country gives you love, you got to give the love back. I always think I’m gonna be Blue Jay forever, and that’s what happened today.”
The afternoon was full of plaudits as Mark Shapiro, president and CEO of the Blue Jays, Edward Rogers, chair of the Blue Jays and executive chair of Rogers Communications, and Ross Atkins, the team’s executive vice president of baseball operations and general manager, sat on a dias with Guerrero as he formally signed the contract and took questions. Outfielder George Springer, manager John Schneider and first base coach Mark Budzinski were among those who popped in to watch the ceremony.
🥹 The Logo 💋 pic.twitter.com/1oh3hLyY8V
— Toronto Blue Jays (@BlueJays) April 14, 2025
Shapiro name-checked Tony Gwynn, Cal Ripken Jr. and Derek Jeter as those with Hall of Fame playing careers who stayed in one place. Rogers said his corporation was committed to winning, and locking up Guerrero was a step toward that. “We want to win the World Series, and I believe we’re gonna win the World Series,” Rogers said.
“Today, signing this deal, we’ve increased our chances and stepped that forward with the signing of Vlad as the center of this team that we’ll build around.”
How does the franchise use the long-term lockup of Guerrero’s heading forward? First, money is not an issue. Rogers Communications topped $20 billion in annual revenue in 2024, and the Jays have the game’s fifth-highest payroll. As a major-market team, they should always compete for free agents and have been willing to spend. As Rosenthal noted in this piece examining the Blue Jays’ immediate path, their estimated $275 million luxury-tax payroll is above the second-highest threshold. The problem is their spending has not resulted in any major return.
The Jays haven’t won a playoff game since their first full season under Shapiro and Atkins, and it’s an understatement that management needs success this season. Signing Guerrero will not be enough for the fan base if they don’t make this postseason. This is not a popular front office, no matter how notable the renovations are at Rogers Centre.
Asked specifically what a successful return on the Guerrero investment would look like, Rogers said, “A World Series championship coming back to Toronto would be an easy one. But we strive every year wanting to put a competitive team out there, and we believe with Vlad at the front of that we’re closer.”
Atkins said the signing bonus was a win-win mechanism for the team and the player. “He benefits from the guaranteed nature of it, and there are some small accounting benefits to him, and there’s some small kind of benefits to the Blue Jays as well,” Atkins said. “It was just an avenue for us to find a way to get closer to the finish line.”
Looking at the broader picture, Guerrero’s extension, as reported by The Athletic’s Will Sammon, Patrick Mooney, and Katie Woo, will have a significant impact on the market for Cubs outfielder Kyle Tucker, who’s positioned to become the No. 1 free agent next winter if the Cubs do not extend him.
Guerrero called shortstop Bo Bichette, an impending free agent, his brother and hoped he would stay with Toronto. “His thing, I can’t control that,” Guerrero said. “I can’t control the destiny of nobody. I hope he stayed here from the bottom of my heart, but I can’t control that.”
On Monday afternoon, you could not help but think about another moment that defines the connection between Guerrero and Blue Jays fans. It also came on a Monday, Sept. 26, 2022, when Guerrero smashed a walk-off single into left field in the bottom of the 10th inning to beat the Yankees at Rogers Centre. After the winning run scored, Guerrero sprinted toward the mound and extended his hands as if an Air Canada Boeing 777 was about to take off from Pearson Airport. Sportsnet’s cameras panned to Teoscar Hernandez, who drenched Guerrero with a barrel of water. The cameras soon focused tight on Vladdy as he walked off the field, tapping his chest and exclaiming: “This is my house. My house. My house.”
Good Morning to the best fans in baseball 💙 #NextLevel pic.twitter.com/1v89xmKQ9G
— Toronto Blue Jays (@BlueJays) September 27, 2022
On Monday, following a record-setting contract extension, we got it confirmed: It truly is his house now.
(Photo: Mark Blinch / Getty Images)