Alex Rodriguez Completes 10-Year, $275 Million Contract With Yankees

On a day when baseball had to deal with fallout from release of the Mitchell Report detailing widespread steroid use, Alex Rodriguez made a mark of a different kind.

He merely completed a 10-year, $275 million contract with the New York Yankees, topping his previous record $252 million, 10-year deal he signed with Texas in December 2000.

"It seemed like the whole thing was a roller-coaster. It was very emotional," Rodriguez said on a conference call. "All along, I knew I wanted to be a Yankee."

Rodriguez is signed to play for the Yankees through age 42. He is the youngest player to reach the 500 home run mark and finished the 2007 season with 518. Barry Bonds has the record with 762 homers.

Rodriguez also will reportedly receive $6 million for making appearances and signing memorabilia when he reaches each of five milestones on his march toward the home-run record for a possible payout of $30 million. He'll get the bonus when he matches the career totals of Willie Mays (660), Babe Ruth (714), Hank Aaron (755) and Bonds.

Rodriguez admitted that opting out of his Yankee contract during the last night of the World Series was "a mistake that was handled extremely poorly."

"It was a huge debacle," he said, calling the timing "distasteful and very inappropriate."

A-Rod said his agent Scott Boras gave him the impression the Yankees weren't interested in bringing him back, which surprised him.

Photo of Alex Rodriguez by Rob Tringali / SportsChrome

"Our goals were not aligned," Rodriguez said. "It felt funny to me."

Typically bizarre ARod.