Cash'n'Carry: The Corporation That Is Carlos Correa, Inc.

Free agent haul or no for the Minnesota Twins' new shortstop, the CEO of CCI scored with endorsements galore for years, and has made more C-notes than an Italian tenor on helium.

On March 19, it was announced that the Minnesota Twins have agreed to sign baseball’s top free agent, shortstop Carlos Correa, according to Mark Berman of Houston’s FOX 26.

Correa will reportedly sign a three-year, $105.3 million contract with opt-out clauses after the contract’s first and second seasons. ESPN adds that the contract pays an evenly distributed $35.1MM annually.

“It’s a huge deal. I think the Adidas deal is a pretty good one. It’s going to help me through those five or six years that I need to get to free agency.”—Carlos Correa, Houston Astros, February 2016

Regardless of where you stood pre-deal, or stand now, post-deal with Carlos Correa, the trail to the top of the money mountain hasn’t exactly been littered with food stamps and welfare checks.

Early on, since winning the AL Rookie-of-the-Year in 2015 as a wide-eyed, fresh-faced 21-year-old, Correa has been one of the “young faces of baseball” Madison Avenue has routinely signed to endorsement deals.

What’s In Your Wallet?

Not that those deals should’ve impeded his journey to the big free agent payoff. But, lest fans think he (and wife, Daniella, married in 2019, and new son, Kylo Daniel, born November 29) have been frequenting downtown soup kitchens, let’s get as close to his bank account as common decency (and state disclosure laws) will allow.

In early March 2017, GM Jeff Luhnow and the Astros renewed Correa’s contract for the Major League minimum of $535,000, just slightly higher than the 2016 minimum ($516,700) he earned.

The 2-time All-Star shortstop debuted with the team June 8, 2015.

That means the ‘Stros and Correa were unable to come to an agreement two straight years, his first two full seasons in the Bigs. The fact that his contract was renewed, though, means he didn’t agree…no surprise considering he was one of the rising stars in the game, and shrewdly, knew it.

“Most accept what the team offers, and bide their time.”

For perspective, MLB Trade Rumors’ Jeff Todd offered this definition in his March 3, 2017 article on several players’ recent renewals: “A renewal occurs when the club can’t get the player to agree to the salary. The result is the same — the player gets what the team is willing to give — but the player gets to make clear his disapproval.”

Peter Abraham and Alex Speier of the Boston Globe (March 2, 2017) added: “Major league players with fewer than three seasons of service time have no leverage when it comes to negotiating a contract. Most accept what the team offers and bide their time.”

Which is exactly what Correa has been doing….with a pocket-full of endorsement deals to sit on; more on those later.

The Astros could, of course, afford to pay Correa league minimums for the couple years they did. He reached his first arbitration-eligible season in 2018, and earned $1 million. Then, in a 2019 arb decision, he was awarded $5 million. He’s just now coming off an $11.7 million 2021.

What Price Nickels and Dimes?

Jeff Todd kicked in with this observation in 2017: “Houston has in prior years utilized a formula-based system that allows players to earn relatively meager boosts over the minimum, though it’s not known whether that specific approach is [or was] still followed [recently].

“Clearly, though, Correa — one of the game’s most exciting young talents — would have [should have?] been offered at least something more than the minimum.

“Presumably, then, he was docked back down owing to his refusal to sign, which is another element the Astros have reportedly employed. It obviously remains to be seen whether there’ll be any long-term strain on the relationship between player and team, but it’s not hard to see the possibility.”

But, in not extending his contract at some point (like they’ve recently done with two other franchise kingpins, Jose Altuve and Alex Bregman), did the Astros (with the same owner, Jim Crane) plant the seeds of a possible “long-term strain” in full-view of the public the last couple years?

The Astros famously offered him a free agency deal of 5 years/$160 million, which he just as famously turned down, wanting at least twice that (in both length and total value).

By comparison, the Texas Rangers locked up shortstop, Corey Seager to a 10-year, $325 million contract in December, just prior to the 3-month labor lockout.

“It’s a business side, and there’s no animosity, there’s nothing going on,” Correa said, diplomatically, in ‘17. “They didn’t let my hopes down or anything. Now we’re just focused on baseball, and we’ll go from there.”

“I had a solid first year, and I think that helped me a lot. My charisma and my personality are helping me a lot, too.

“So, hopefully we can get more deals done. I love doing all of this.”—Carlos Correa, early 2016

Carlos, as well as being athletically gifted, is also a smart man. In February 2016, he signed a record-setting endorsement deal with athletic shoe monolith Adidas. Terms aren’t usually disclosed in such agreements, but then-Houston Rockets All-Star guard, James Harden, signed a 13-year, $200 million deal with Adidas in 2015 (according to the Houston Chronicle).

“This deal assures that Carlos will be compensated at the highest levels of Major League Baseball,” said Frankie Higginbotham, Correa’s marketing manager, in an interview with FOX 26 Sports/Houston at the time.

“It’s really special,” Correa understandably crowed after inking the shoe deal. “A guy coming from a small town in Puerto Rico, with a lot of dreams as a kid. Those dreams are finally coming true. It’s something surreal. I’m just living the dream right now, and working every single day to try to get better and try to get those kind of deals.”

Here’s a short list of “those kinds of deals”: In 2016, he was showcased in Topps Trading Cards’ digital BUNT Trading Card app.

He acquired endorsement deals with the Central Houston Auto Group dealership, and with HEB, a large Texas supermarket chain.

He also had a promotional agreement with a fish and boating foundation, and, on the philanthropy front, he had a 2016 partnership with Houston Children’s Charity for an effort to raise funds to buy beds for kids.

During a couple recent off-seasons, Correa hosted a charity golf tournament to benefit children with medical needs in Puerto Rico. 

Related: Astros teammate, Alex Bregman’s league-leading philanthropy:

“You’re Wanted On Set, Mr. Correa”

He also managed to work in the Miss Puerto Rico beauty pageant as a judge, before jetting to Hollywood to discuss a Roberto Clemente biopic in 2016 with film producer Thomas Tull (The Dark Knight, Inception, The Dark Knight Rises) and his Legendary Entertainment company.

His small role unknown at the time, Correa expressed excitement about the film’s subject matter: “It’s going to be special to be in the movie about a fellow Puerto Rican player, the best right fielder of all time, (Hall of Famer) Roberto Clemente.”

At Spring Camp, Correa curiosity days before he signed with the Twins: