Braun's no brainer: eight years, $45 mil

Milwaukee Brewers outfielder Ryan Braun, the former Granada Hills High star who won the NL Rookie of the Year award last year (.324, 34 HRs, 97 RBIs, league-best .534 slugging percentage in 113 games) has signed an eight-year, $45 mil deal to stay with the team, accoridng to FoxSports.com's Ken Rosenthal and confirmed by numerous sources.
The 24-year-old Braun, aka "The Hebrew Hammer," already has nine homers and 29 RBI going into today's game against the Dodgers.
"This ensures that the Brewers will be able to keep one of the top young hitters in the game at least through his first two years of free agency," says Rosenthal. "If not for revenue sharing, the Brewers probably wouldn't have been able to lock up their young star. It's good for the game."
The largest previous deal for the Brewers was the $42 million, four-year contract signed by free-agent pitcher Jeff Suppan (Crespi High) prior to the 2007 season.
The Associated Press also reported on the contract this morning, and the Wisconsin Capital Times has quotes from Braun's press conference today.