In 2010, the relief pitcher for the San Francisco Giants says he was overpaid by $500,000 thanks to a contract error that wrongly awarded him more than the $10 million previously agreed upon. The mistake was signed off by both him and his team before the typing error was discovered.
When Affeldt realized the unintended bonus, he says he returned the extra money and asked that his contract be rewritten.
The 33-year-old Affeldt, who describes himself as an avid Christian and father, details the six-digit mistake in his new book, To Stir a Movement.
He claims that the Players Association, his agent Michael Moye as well as Giants assistant general manager Bobby Evans all approved of him keeping the $500,000 after he brought it to their attention.
Affeldt, who has been in the major leagues since 2002, recalled his agent's reaction in his book, "You know what? As your agent I've got to tell you that legally you can keep it. As a man who represents integrity, I'm saying you should give it back."
And that's exactly what he did.
"I talked to Bobby the next day and said, 'I can't take that money,'" Affeldt writes. "I won't sleep well at night knowing I took that money because every time I open my pay check I'll know it's not right."
Affeldt sat down and had the contract re-written, subtracting $500,000 from his pay.
Last winter Affeldt signed a new $18 million three-year contract with the Giants.
He believes he was given the more than four-fold pay raise because of his honesty and ultimate decision to make good with his employers. But helping the Giants win two World Series in the last three years couldn't hurt either.
No comments:
Post a Comment