After much negotiation and patience, Joe Mauer has reportedly agreed to stay with the Minnesota Twins for 10 more years. The exact amount of the deal is yet to be revealed, but I’m pretty sure it’s unheard of.

Upon hearing this news, Minnesota ice fisherman drinking beer on one of the frigid 10,000 lakes, snow plow operators making the roads tolerable in Brainerd, and parka salesman in Ely all dropped what they were doing to stop and cheer.

Yep, Minnesotans are happier than penguins in a blizzard about now.

The reigning American League MVP and batting champion hit .365 last season with 28 home runs and 96 RBIs after missing the entire month of April. In 2009, he became just the second catcher in 33 years to win the MVP honor while setting a big league record for highest batting average by a catcher, which earned him a backstop record third batting title. To top all that off, he’s a three-time All-Star and two-time Gold Glove recipient. Plus, he has perfectly-groomed sideburns.

Not bad for a 26-year-old kid from St. Paul whose future once looked brighter as a quarterback at Cretin-Derham Hall.

Mauer is set to make $12.5 million this season. The Twins have neither confirmed nor denied the news, first reported by WCCO-TV’s Mark Rosen, but we’ll update this article with the specifics of his decade-long contract as soon as that information is available.

In the meantime, watch this adorable kid ask Mauer the million dollar question.

Update: Big League Stew estimates that the deal could be worth $20 million a season, which is like 33% of the team’s entire payroll. Yikes. 

Update #2: MSNBC reports Mauer “laughed” at the 10-year contract news. In my opinion (whether Rosen was misinformed or not) this deal is a matter of when, not if.

Related posts:

1. Twins: Mauer Likely To Re-Sign
2. Joe Mauer Wins AL MVP
3. Good News, Bads News for Twins
4. MLB Baseball Betting Picks: Twins vs. Rangers
5. Joe Mauer’s Sideburns Hit the Cover of MLB 10 The Show