Low-Ball Offer Revealed, Mayor Blasts Harper, As Harper Praises D.C.

Mr. Harper goes to Washington.  For the first time since signing a 13-year, $330 million contract with the Philadelphia Phillies, Bryce Harper heads back to his old ballpark for two games.  Therefore, it is an occasion to many stories coming out.  Some interesting information was revealed about just what the Washington Nationals offered Harper.

Earlier this offseason, we wrote about the reports of a 10-year, $300 million contract that the Washington Nationals offered Harper towards the end of the season.  The contract included deferred money until 2052.  But it turns out the Nationals did indeed make another offer after that one.  It was much, much worse.

Barry Svrluga of the Washington Post reported today that Harper felt like he was all set for a return to Washington, D.C.  But then he was offered a deal worth many millions of dollars less, for more years:

When the calendar flipped to 2019, the Nationals got back to Harper and Boras with a new offer Jan. 3: 12 years for $250 million, according to one person with direct knowledge of the terms. Much like the proposal they made to Harper before the season ended, some of the money was deferred. The last payment from this contract, according to the person, would have come in 2072.

The Boras Corporation did the math and concluded that this was worth just $107 million in present-day value.

Other interesting tidbits in the piece:

• Harper did NOT want to play on the West Coast
• Harper did not like the idea of another free agency where everyone would be asking, "Where next?"
• Harper and his wife Kayla decided on the Phillies before hearing the final San Francisco offer

Meanwhile, Harper had nothing but kind words towards Washington, D.C.  On his Instagram, Harper shared his positive memories:

View this post on Instagram

If you would have told me 5 years ago I would be walking into Nationals Park as an opposing player, I would’ve told you that you were crazy. Five years later, I’m doing just that. I remember the first day I walked into Nats Park. My first base hit. My first home run. And, of course, my first standing ovation. Nationals fans delivered that first ovation. The things that I will miss most are the relationships I gained on a personal level with so many of the Nationals staff and workers around the ballpark. Every day I walked in, I got a smile or shared a laugh with you. I especially want to thank The Lerner Family and Mike Rizzo for the unwavering support they showed me during my tenure in DC. The city of DC was home. Filomena’s, The Silver Diner, The Italian store, and countless other places helped make it feel like home. You, Nationals fans, made me one of your own for the entire time I was a part of the Nationals organization. I’m so blessed to have been able to play for a fan base that cared so much about our team each and every night. You will always hold a special place in my heart no matter what. I look forward to continuing Harpers Heroes with LLS in the DMV as well as making sure the legacy fields bearing my name are the best youth fields in town! When I run on the field tonight I am sure to hear some boos, but I will always remember the cheers and the screams that are still with me right now, as I start my new chapter. So for that, DC, THANK YOU.

A post shared by Bryce Harper (@bryceharper3) on Apr 2, 2019 at 7:05am PDT

Finally, as Harper took a classy approach towards his old city, the Mayor of Washington D.C. went another direction: Compare Harper to Benedict Arnold.

Jeff Kerr, who writes about the Eagles for Eagles 24/7 screenshotted a Tuesday tweet from Washington, D.C. mayor Muriel Bowser.  Bowser 

As of 1:00 p.m., Bowser had tweeted several times since but made no reference to the post.