Jose Bautista is guaranteed to receive $18 million in 2017 after signing a one-year contract with the Toronto Blue Jays. However, he could earn more than that depending on how many fans show up to the Rogers Centre this year.
According to baseball insider Jon Heyman, Bautista’s new deal comes with an attendance bonus.
For Bautista to see any of that attendance bonus the team will need to attract more fans than they did last year. The total attendance for Blue Jays home games in 2016 was 3,392,099, which was an increase of nearly 600,000 from 2015 and the franchise’s best attendance since the 1993 season.
The attendance bonus is similar to the one Bautista’s former teammate Edwin Encarnacion signed with the Cleveland Indians earlier this month.
Attendance bonuses are usually reserved for popular, veteran players. The trend has origins dating back to the 1930s but in more recent years stars like Ken Griffey Jr., with the Mariners in 2009, and Johnny Damon, with the Rays in 2011, have taken advantage of them.
Bautista’s contract also has a $17-million mutual option with a $500,000 buyout and a $20-million vesting option for 2019.
Bautista is coming off a down year by his standards. He hit .234 with 22 home runs, an .817 OPS and 1.4 WAR in 116 games.
“Jose is definitely one of the most motivated individuals I’ve ever been around,” Blue Jays manager John Gibbons told Sportsnet 590 The Fan Wednesday. “He’s always on a mission to prove just how good he is and I think coming back under these circumstances he’s going to be motivated that much more and he’ll end up having a big, big year.”