In a surprise move last night from u-dogs owner Cathy Woodruff, #10 ranked Adam Clark has been offered a $20/2-tournament contract extension from the team.
Adam has 1 tournament remaining on his $10/2-tournament contract, which makes him set to become a free agent after the upcoming tournament.
If Adam signs the deal, his pay would not only be doubled, but he would be tied with Jordan Halverson of the Lynx as the highest paid player in the league.
There are two reasons why we are calling this a surprise move. #1, many have speculated that Adam will want to sign with a new team in the future, and therefor the underdogs would try to trade him before hand so they could at least get something for him in return. This offer however, definitely confirms that isn't the case and that the team wants to keep him around longer than just JAL XIII. #2, $10 per tournament is A LOT, when you consider that the salary cap is $14. We know Adam is a reliable starting pitcher, but the offer suggests he's at an MVP level.
"If I get a good player, I want to retain them," simply said Cathy on the offer. She went on to add that she's confident Tierney Uhlenkott and Macee Utecht are a good supporting cast to form around him if he stays long term.
At this moment the underdogs are waiting on a response from Adam. The anticipation is that he will indeed sign the contract given the high amount would be a hard deal to pass on. But if Adam in fact wants to test free agency after JAL XIII bad enough there is an outside chance he'll reject the offer.