Interesting blurb on Braun's contract
After this season Braun has 4 guaranteed years left on his contract and a mutual option for a 5th year. He's guaranteed $76 million over that 4 year span--which includes the $4 million buyout for the option. That was a lot of money when the Brewers signed him to that contract back in 2011, but it's actually not that much money anymore. On top of that there are deferments which lighten the financial burden over those four years.
A total of $14 million dollars is deferred over that four year period. Another $4 million is deferred from this year's salary too. That all has to be paid back starting in 2022--the year after his mutual option. But it's spread out over 10 years which equals just $1.8 million per year. That's pennies. So not only do the Brewers--or any trading team--never pay Braun more than $15 million in any given season, the deferments are portioned out so that they wouldn't really impact any future payroll.