CC Sabathia Gets $9M Signing Bonus

CC Sabathia will receive $9.5 million from the New York Yankees before he throws his first official pitch.

His $161 million, seven-year contract includes a $9 million signing bonus, according to details obtained Friday by The Associated Press. By the time the Yankees open at Baltimore on April 6, he already will have received $6 million of that bonus plus $3.5 million of next year's salary.

This is how it works:

--The signing bonus is payable in three installments by Dec. 31 and by March 1 and July 31 next year.

--He will get a $14 million salary in 2009 and $23 million in each of the final six seasons.

 --Sabathia's salary will be paid in semimonthly installments over the year. That means he'll have received six payments of $583,333 before the opener.