Every detail Yankees fans need to know about Cody Bellinger's contract

Cody Bellinger is back, baby! On the 80th day of the MLB offseason, the New York Yankees have reportedly agreed to terms with Belli on a five-year, $162.5 million deal. For Yankees fans, the waiting period on Bellinger has felt more like 80 years.

Even when the New York Mets (the other big Belli suitor) snagged Luis Robert Jr. late on Wednesday night, Yankees fans still couldn't relax. A Mets-Bellinger union was still possible! Now, it's not. Now, it's time to digest the details of Bellinger's Yankees deal.

Reviewing every detail of Cody Bellinger's new Yankees contract

Let's start with the total dollar figure, $162.5 million, which was first revealed by ESPN's Jeff Passan at 2:20 p.m. ET on Wednesday. What's interesting about this number is that it's slightly higher than the previously reported $155-$160 million "final offer" that the Yankees gave Bellinger 11 days ago. Did Brian Cashman sweeten the pot for Bellinger further, or was $162.5 million actually always the "final offer"?

That's still unclear, but virtually everything else about the contract is known, thanks to Passan, Jon Heyman (The New York Post), and Bob Nightengale (USA Today).

Bellinger's Yankees contract features lockout-friendly opt-outs

Per Nightengale, Bellinger's five-year contract features opt-outs after years two and three, but there's a catch. In the event of an MLB lockout that erases an entire season, the opt-outs are pushed back a year. In other words, with no lockout, Bellinger will be able to opt out following the 2027 season (and following the 2028 season). If there is a lengthy lockout, he'll be able to opt out following the 2028 and 2029 seasons. It's unclear if the opt-out clauses shift if, say, 100 of a possible 162 games are lost in 2027 instead of the full year.

This was all corroborated by Heyman, who also revealed another important detail about Bellinger's contract: It features no deferrals.

Bellinger's deal includes a $20 million signing bonus

Moving on, more than half of Bellinger's $162.5 million will be transferred to his bank account in the first two years of this deal (before the first opt-out), thanks in large part to a beefy $20 million signing bonus.

It's also notable that Bellinger's yearly salary is highest over the first two seasons of the deal, at $32.5 million. When you take into account his combined salary for 2026 and 2027 (no lockout), plus the signing bonus, Belli will have pocketed $85 million over the first two years of the contract. The final three years of the deal feature a $25.8 million yearly figure (2028 and 2029), followed by $25.9 million in Year 5 (per Heyman). There is a full no-trade clause included as well.

So, there you have it. It's not exactly the four-year, $240 million galactic overpay that the Los Angeles Dodgers just gifted to Kyle Tucker, but it's certainly a handsome deal for Bellinger that most Yankees fans would deem a slight or moderate overpay.

Ultimately, the Yankees did what they needed to do to get their guy. Cashman was right all along -- there was no reason to worry!