Cardinals starting pitcher Adam Wainwright has no regrets about signing a five-year, $97.5 million contract extension last year, even after Dodgers starting pitcher Clayton Kershaw recently landed a seven-year, $215 million contract.
"I was so happy to go into this offseason and not have to worry about being a free agent. I'm right where I want to be," Wainwright told MLB.com. "Do I think I could have made more money on the free-agent market? Absolutely. But you can't buy happiness. I'm not going to be happier anywhere else but where I am right now."
Wainwright will be 37 years old when his contract ends and Kershaw, who is 25 years old, will still be in the prime of his career, which certainly played a factor into the young lefty getting more money.
"What I want to do at the end of this contract -- just like I did in the other one -- is say I lived up to the contract I signed," Wainwright said. "I have great confidence that I'm going to do that. The contract that he signed is amazing. There's no doubt about it. But he's also 25 years old. Compared to him, I'm an old man. I take my role here on this team very seriously. I love where I'm at, I love what I've learned here, and I can't wait to pass it on. There's no other color I want to wear."