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• JSOnline: Haudricourt Analysis
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"This is a big moment in Brewers history," said Brewers general manager Doug Melvin about the first major contract extension for one of his team's young stars.

Left-fielder Ryan Braun has signed a seven-year contract extension with the team, keeping him here through the 2015 season.

It's an eight-year, $45,000,000 dollar contract, but it includes the current year for which he had previously signed.

Journal Sentinel Brewers beat writer Tom Haudricourt, a regular on Newsradio 620 WTMJ's Brewers 360', states the deal could escalate to $51,000,000.

"To know you have this kind of a talented player to sign through two years of free agency means a lot to this organization.

"I am very confident that Ryan Braun is the right person to do this deal with."

Braun: "A Very Special Day for Me and My Family"

"Thank you to the entire Milwaukee Brewers organization," said Braun after Melvin introduced him.

"It's a commitment I was ready to make to the city of Milwaukee. The fans have been unbelievable to me. I really enjoy playing here. I really believe in the direction this organization is headed. I enjoy playing with my teammates, the coaches. I'm just really excited for our future."

The contract is the largest in Major League history for any player who was not currently eligible for arbitration or free agency with all MLB teams.

"It's unprecedented. That means a lot to me."

Braun now says that after a few days of knowing something could break, he can just play.

"For me it's just great to have that out of the way and just focus on baseball.  It definitely helps, takes a lot of the pressure off.

"This isn't going to change anything. If anything, this will enable me to relax and focus on playing the game and winning the most games as possible."

This season, Braun is hitting .287 with nine home runs and 29 RBIs in 39 games. His most recent hot streak includes four home runs over two games on May 11th and 12th.

Braun, the National League Rookie of the Year for 2007, hit .324 with 34 home runs and 97 RBIs in his 113-game campaign last year. No rookie in major league history outperformed his .634 slugging percentage in 2007.

Braun would be eligible for salary arbitration in 2011 and free agency in 2014, so this contract locks him up for the first year of his free-agent tenure.

Braun has a no-trade clause for the next four years, then a limited no-trade clause allowing him to block deals to 12 teams from 2012-13 and six teams from 2014-15.

Fielder Next?

Earlier this spring, the Brewers said they were working with Braun and first baseman Prince Fielder on long-term contracts. They renewed both players' contracts in spring training with one-year deals - Braun for $455,000, Fielder for $670,000. Fielder's arbitration period begins in 2009, and his free-agent period in 2012.

Fielder publicly complained about the re-upping during spring training, saying "I'm not happy about it."

To that end, Melvin understands.

"They're all individuals," says Melvin.

"It's up to the individual players and their representatives to determine what they want.

"They're all young enough. They're going to get a second bite out of the apple."

Leading Major League player agent Scott Boras represents Fielder, among other stars like the Yankees' Alex Rodriguez, who currently owns the most lucrative contract in all of American team sports.

Braun also sees Fielder's perspective.

"Each player has his own individual factors when they make a decision like this. This is a decision I couldn't pass up financially.

"This was just in my best interest."

Brewers principal owner Mark Attanasio is looking for the Braun signing to stop the potential standstill with singing guys like Fielder and start a "domino effect" with his other young players.

"Relative to the state of baseball, there's a little bit of a sea change here," Attanasio said as he was leaving the owners' meetings taking place about 5 miles from Miller Park. "There's been a number of young players now who are getting signed, and I think what you see is there's a real economic incentive on both sides to do something."

The Associated Press contributed to this report.