Chicago Cubs: Pete Crow-Armstrong contract extension talk heats up

The Chicago Cubs realize the value of center fielder Pete Crow-Armstrong and seem to be acting accordingly. By all accounts, they are very willing to make a real effort to extend the soon to be 24-year-old.

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MLB insider Jon Heyman recently touched on that in a NY Post article talking about possible MLB extensions.

According to the veteran baseball writer, the Cubs are willing to be significantly more generous with a current offer than they were with the extension deal they tossed PCA’s way prior to the 2025 season.

Per Heyman:

“The Cubs offered $66M last spring and are believed willing to go significantly higher for their star CF. But there’s no indication anything’s close.”

Of course they are. They have to be.

Crow-Armstrong hit 31 home runs, drove in 95 runs, and stole 35 bases last season, while playing Gold Glove defense. Before earning his first All-Star game nod, he was already the talk of baseball and a clear emerging superstar with the charisma and high-end ability to support that assessment.

Even with a particularly brutal dip over the second half of the season, the baseball world is still bullish on PCA. Superstar money is right around the corner.

How much would a PCA extension cost?

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But how much could the young star get in a Cubs extension? Estimates vary, but none are below the $130 million mark.

Aldo Soto of Sports Mockery projects that the deal could reach as high as $240 million over 11 years, something which would keep Crow-Armstrong a Cub through the 2036 season.

Per Soto:

“$130 million guaranteed through 2032 (incentives increase annual value). So, that initial seven-year, $130 million extension would buy out his arbitration years and two free agent years, 2031 and 2032, respectively. Then, you can include escalators for the next four years of the contract where at the minimum Crow-Armstrong is in the $30 million range, incentivizing him to stay with the Cubs and not go into free agency. In turn, the Cubs could add a couple different team options to secure Crow-Armstrong beyond the four years after the initial guaranteed extension expires. Add in three option years and make the total max value near $400 million over 14 or 15 years.”

Cubs are staring down big budget/roster decision

That’s a lot to ask of a Cubs team that generally shies away from contracts that big over that many years. It’s an especially tough proposition when one considers the decisions that need to be made at the end of the coming season.

Chicago will have several core members of their roster either eligible for free agency or staring down options for next season. Important names such as Nico Hoerner, Ian Happ, Seiya Suzuki, Jameson Taillon, Shota Imanaga, Matthew Boyd, and Carson Kelly could be gone after 2026. Few, if any of the above, will be extended before the end of the 2026 campaign or re-signed as free agents after that. The team will have a lot of budget and roster decisions to make very soon, just as a pending labor dispute challenges the 2027 season.

But Crow-Armstrong is a special player demanding of special consideration. It seems likely that the Cubs will move to lock him in before working on the other issues.

The young talent has gone on record numerous times about his desire to stay in Chicago and remain a Cub.

“I’ve made it clear I want to be here for as long as they want me,” Crow-Armstrong said in a recent Chicago Magazine profile piece. “I want what’s best for the team.

“I play the game because I like beating other people. The money will be life-changing regardless. I would like to get a fair deal so I don’t f**k the market up. I want to look out for the other center fielders who have to go through the same process. Which is why I’m glad [Cubs management] and my agents are figuring out how to do this.”

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Source: https://www.chicitysports.com/chicago-cubs-pete-crow-armstrong-contract-extension-prediction/