I really like the idea in today's thread about doing something RE: Albert Pujols's impending megacontract, and since we're just now hearing about the ongoing negotiations now is the best time to hold a community projection, before Joe Strauss influences things by letting slip, one slow midnight, that Pujols is holding out for a 25th year.
So after the jump I've embedded a Google form that will allow you to guess how long Pujols's contract will be and how much he'll make per year. I'll close the polls some time before we get concrete news of his desires or the Cardinals', and should the extension get done (hear that, gods of baseball? Should it get done! No hubris intended!) we'll see what the VEB average was. And, more importantly for bragging purposes, who got closest to the mark.
My own desire is for a shorter contract with a higher AAV, but as much as I'd like to guess, say, five years, I can't quite imagine a situation in which Pujols's contract comes up for renegotiation again before Matt Holliday's. If they were to go in that direction, I think they would have to go well clear of Ryan Howard and Alex Rodriguez to appease Pujols's people—I can't imagine $30 million a year doing it when Rodriguez is making $31 million next year as a 35-year-old.
One good thing that's come from this early speculation is that it doesn't look, at least right now, that Pujols will be looking for a deal as long as the Rodriguez contracts.
So click forward and give your best guess. If your dream-deal has player options, include them in the years and AAV; if it has team options, include the buyout value in the AAV, if you'd like; either way, give us the exact structure in the comments, so we can see who among us was the rightest. (I was going to offer, as a prize, a ridiculous player sponsorship on Baseball Reference, but it looks like they've raised their prices—I'm not ready to pay $30 for Matt Pagnozzi...)