I can understand why mid-market teams aren't willing to dish out that much for guys in their 30s, but it just wouldn't have been the same to see Verlander in another uni. He needs to go down as the Tigers best pitcher ever, and ultimately (barring injury) will.
He'd go down as the greatest Tiger pitcher ever with or without the last years of his career. Don't get me wrong, I would have signed him long term too -- where he's at right now as a player is more than worth it -- but it's not as if they had to lock him up until he was well out of his prime for that much money. Still, teams are limited in what they can do; to sign a player and get his production now, you're going to have to ink him to a huge contract now and you're going to have to eat a few years of his career where he's just not going to be worth it. Players won't sign for 3 years if they can get 7, obviously. Front-loading contracts wouldn't be an awful idea, but it would hamper your ability to make moves right now if you did. Could you imagine the Tigers' payroll if guys like Verlander, Fielder, and Cabrera had front-loaded deals? Yeesh, that would be rough.
Just some random news I just caught: Elvis Andrus got paid, big time. 8-years, $120 million. That's not a bad deal, considering the fact that he won't be too old (33-ish when it ultimately runs out) at the end of his contract.