Gavin was a starting pitcher for a double$-$A $($AA$)-$level baseball team, the Ketchum Baldies; last year, he was the first runner$-$up for the Minor League Player of the Year award. Using his $97$ mph fastball, an impeccable curve ball and slider, and a reliable changeup pitch, he achieved a $17-3$ win$$loss record, an earned run average $($ERA$)$ of $2\mathrm{.}84,$ and $108$ strikeouts in $123\mathrm{.}1$ innings pitched. He is also your best friend.

Two weeks ago, on his three$-$year anniversary with the team, Gavin received the following email from his agent, Marty Fineprint, indicating that he is being called up to the Boston Back Bay Boys, the Baldies$$s corresponding Major League Baseball $($MLB$)$ team. The email describes the general terms and conditions of Gavin$$s revised contract.

From: Marty Fineprint

To: Gavin Goldenarm

Subject: New Team, New Contract Proposal

Gavin,

Congratulations! You$$ve been called up to the Boston Back Bay Boys. Below are the offered terms and conditions of your new contract. After you review them and think about the offer, call me and we$$ll discuss your options. Congrats again!

Salary and Incentives:

$$ Gavin Goldenarm hereafter referred to as the $$Player$,$ is offered a four$-$year contract with an annual salary of $$444,000$ per year, to be paid at the end of each month in the contract term.

$$ Under the league$$s collective bargaining agreement, the Player will receive a $4\%$ cost$-$of$-$living adjustment $($COLA$)$ to his annual salary at the beginning of every other year. This means that the Player$$s annual salary will increase at the beginning of year $2$ and year $4,$ as applicable.

$$ In addition, the Player will receive a one$-$time $$15000$ time$-$in$-$league bonus after six months of participation with an MLB team. This bonus will be paid immediately on completion of the six$-$month period.

$$ The Player is offered a performance$-$based bonus, as well as a milestone bonus. Both are intended to encourage outstanding performance.

$$ The Player is offered the following award$-$based performance incentive: a $15\%$ bonus if he is designated as the Most Valuable Player $($MVP$)$ in the league. The Player is also offered the following milestone bonus: a $$75,000$ bonus if he ties Nolan Ryan$$s $1973$ single$-$season strikeout record $(383$ strikeouts$).$

$$ The Player is eligible for each potential bonus each year that the contract is in effect and, if expressed as a percentage, will be based on the value of the Player$$s base annual salary for the corresponding year. If earned, the performance and milestone bonuses will be distributed in a single payment at the beginning of the next contract year. Although this proposal describes only one milestone, the actual contract contains several progressive milestones. Exceeding one milestone creates the opportunity to exceed another.

In addition to the proposal offered by the Back Bay Boys, I$$ve also been able to secure the following endorsement opportunity:

A local car dealer has offered you a contract that will pay $$750$ per month for two years. This contract is contingent on your accepting the contract with the Back Bay Boys and will take effect immediately upon signing your MLB contract. In return for these payments, you will participate in the dealer$$s promotional events, such as signing autographs and allowing photographs as requested.

According to Marty, the contract is worth $$2,402,400$assuming receipt of all possible bonuses. you and Gavin have agreed that any funds received could be invested to earn $5\mathrm{.}50\%,$ compounded monthly.

Contract Evaluation Worksheet

Complete the following worksheet by inserting the appropriate values to evaluate the contract and answer the related questions. Note: To clarify possible sources of confusion and simplify your calculations:

$$ Assume that all bonuses are earned in each of the years for which they are available and are paid at the end of the corresponding year$($s$),$ unless specifically stated differently. Their value should be based on the salary in effect at the time the bonuses were earned.

$$ The endorsement proceeds are paid in accordance with the terms of the deal.

$$ Remember that the timing of a cash flow affects the interest rate that is used to discount the cash flow. For example, annual interest rates should be used to discount annual cash flows, and monthly interest rates are used to discount monthly cash flows. Therefore, it may be necessary to compute the appropriate interest rate that should be used in a discounting calculation.

$$ Round all dollar amounts to the nearest whole dollar and carry out all interest rate factors to four decimal places.

$$ When entering intermediate values as answer choices, be sure to round them to the nearest dollar, however when using those same values to calculate another answer, do not round.Given your worksheet calculations, which of the following statements is accurate? Is Steven's estimate of the value of Gavin's contract accurate on

either a nominal or discounted