Terry's new one-year deal was signed, sealed, and delivered yesterday. And there was much rejoicing. It will be the Captain's 20th year with the club, 17th at senior level. Having joined as a 14-year-old from East London's Senrab, Terry has 621 Chelsea appearances to his name, 490 of those as captain. He currently trails Frank Lampard by 27 games for third and Chopper Harris 174 for first place on the all-time list.
Even if he doesn't eclipse Harris - JT would have to be undisputed first-choice for at least three more seasons in order to do so - Terry's place in the Chelsea history books is more than assured. The bigger question, at least right now, is what are his new wages?
Our wage database, lovingly compiled and curated by Jake, had him on £175,000/week, which for a long time had made him the highest paid player on the team. During those years, common lore had it that he had a clause in his contract that would ensure that it stayed that way even with new signings, but I don't think that was ever confirmed after Chelsea made Eden Hazard an offer he couldn't refuse.
With a contract length of just one year, perhaps it's not that important for the overall financial picture to nickel and dime our club legend for a couple million, but perhaps as a sign of mutual good will, as a sign of understanding and supporting Mourinho's development of a new core, and as a sign of good faith negotiations, Terry could have possibly taken a pay cut. Reports are conflicting.
The Mirror, whose report we ran yesterday, just said that Terry was looking for a multi-year deal, but then relented and agreed to the one-year extension. The Guardian's Dom Fifield claims a new salary "close to the £175,000-a-week" that Terry used to earn, but with incentives that could possibly push it beyond £200k and into the realm of the Vincent Kompanys. The Telegraph's Matt Law names a specific wage at £150,000/week, with pay-as-you-play bonuses stacking on top. Meanwhile, the Times claim an exact number with £140k/week, though they also mention these mysterious incentives. £140,000-a-week would put him closer to Lampard's level though still third highest on the team. Sounds reasonable.
While it's doubtful that we'll ever find out the exact numbers, I think it's safe to say that Terry's essentially getting paid the same as before. The big concession on his part probably was dropping the multi-year option, which then convinced the club to go easy with the weekly wages.
Of course, what is most important is that both sides found a solution to keep Terry around for one more year at least. Hurray!