LOS ANGELES -- Clayton Kershaw agreed Wednesday to a $215 million, seven-year contract with the Los Angeles Dodgers, a person familiar with the negotiations told The Associated Press, a deal that makes the two-time Cy Young Award winner baseballs first player with a $30 million average salary. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because the agreement had not yet been announced. Kershaw receives the most lucrative deal for a pitcher, breaking the mark of $180 million set by Justin Verlander last March for his seven-year contract with Detroit. Kershaw would have been eligible for free agency after the upcoming season if the new deal hadnt been reached. He was eligible for salary arbitration, and those figures were set to be exchanged on Friday. He was coming off a two-year, $20 million deal that included $200,000 in bonuses in 2012, a $500,000 escalator to his 2013 base salary, and $300,000 in bonuses last year. General manager Ned Colletti said last week that both sides had been negotiating. "Its our desire to sign him here for a very long time," Colletti said. The average salary of $30.7 million tops the previous high of $27.5 million, set by the New York Yankees Alex Rodriguez as part of a 10-year agreement from December 2007. While Roger Clemens had a contract with a listed salary of $28 million with the Yankees in 2007, he joined the team in June and actually made $17.4 million. The Dodgers had baseballs second-highest payroll at the end of the regular season last fall -- more than $236 million. Kershaws agreement, first reported by ESPN.com, is baseballs seventh of $200 million or more. Among current contracts, it trails only the agreements of Rodriguez, Cincinnati first baseman Joey Votto ($251.5 million over 12 years), Los Angeles Angels first baseman Albert Pujols ($240 million over 10 years) and Seattle second baseman Robinson Cano ($240 million over 10 years). A left-hander who turns 26 in March, Kershaw won NL Cy Young Awards in 2011 and 2013. He was 16-9 for the NL West champion Dodgers last year and led the league with 232 strikeouts, and his 1.83 ERA was the best in the major leagues since Pedro Martinezs 1.74 for Boston in 2000. He has led the NL in ERA in each of the last three years. Dodgers catcher A.J. Ellis tweeted: "Big winner today......me. I am blessed to catch best in the game for foreseeable future God willing. Congrats Kersh!" Teammate Matt Kemp chimed in, tweeting, "Congrats 2 the best pitcher in baseball and great teammate (at)ClaytonKersh22 on his deal!" Kershaw has been a powerful, yet low-key, presence on the team. In the off-season, the Dallas native has worked to build a charitable legacy alongside his wife, Ellen. The couple has made yearly trips to Africa, where his foundation that focuses on helping at-risk children built an orphanage. The deal signifies further stability for a club that was in turmoil under former owner Frank McCourt, who sold the team to a group that includes Magic Johnson in 2012. The Dodgers signed manager Don Mattingly to a three-year deal last week and now have locked up their ace. Last year, Kershaw pitched a career-high 259 innings between the regular season and the playoffs. The season ended on a sour note when he pitched a rare clunker in the Dodgers 9-0 loss to St. Louis in the NL championship series that eliminated them. Still up for discussion this winter is a new deal for Hanley Ramirez, who hit a team-leading .345 and played hurt during the NLCS. He has one year left on his contract. John Carlson Jersey . The 24-year-old Raley was 0-2 with a 9.00 ERA for Chicago in his first two career starts after being called up from Iowa on Aug. 7. He was optioned to Iowa on Monday after losing 3-0 to Cincinnati in Chicago on Sunday. Dale Hunter Jersey . The last team in the NBA that will have any sympathy for the Thunder is the Minnesota Timberwolves, who are showing signs of putting everything together after two years of devastating injuries. http://www.officialcapitalspro.com/Jakub...apitals-jersey/. Sharper briefly appeared in Los Angeles Superior Court, where his arraignment was postponed until Feb. 20 at the request of his lawyers. They issued a statement saying he would be exonerated. Prosecutors then filed a motion to increase Sharpers bail to $10 million and outlined details of investigations involving him in Las Vegas, Tempe, Ariz. Custom Washington Capitals Jerseys . Mauer drove in two runs before leaving with an injury, Eduardo Nunez homered and the Minnesota Twins beat the Kansas City Royals 10-2 on Tuesday night. Evgeny Kuznetsov Jersey . After Mondays comments by Coach Claude Noel that its work first and skill second, and that more “A” games are needed, the Jets responded with a 47-shot effort. If not for terrific goaltending by Braden Holtby the Jets would have had two points in regulation.OBERHOF, Germany -- Tatjana Huefner of Germany ended teammate Natalie Geisenbergers season-long winning streak by hanging on to win a luge World Cup and moving into second in the points standings on Saturday. Huefners two-run time was 1 minute, 23.925 seconds, 0.016 seconds ahead of Geisenberger. Germans also finished third and fourth, with Dajana Eitberger and Anke Wischnewski in those spots. Still, its just about inevitable that Geisenberger -- a winner in the seasons first six races -- will claim her second straight points championship. Her lead in the standings over Huefner is 194 points, with a maximum of 200 left to be earned in the seasons last two World Cups before the Sochi Olympics. Canadas Alex Gough, who had a tiny mathematical chance of cattching Geisenberger entering the weekend, was fifth.dddddddddddd Only Geisenberger and Huefner remain in the running for the season crown. This will be the 16th straight season that a German woman has captured the points title, and the 26th time in 36 years overall. The mens singles race is scheduled for Sunday. In doubles, the German duo of Toni Eggert and Sascha Benecken posted the fastest time in both heats, winning in 1:23.212. They were 0.379 seconds better than fellow Germans Tobias Wendl and Tobias Arlt. Wendl and Arlt could still wrap up the overall season points title next weekend in Altenberg, the next-to-last stop on tour before Sochi. Russias Vladislav Yuzhakov and Vladimir Makhnutin were third, another 0.018 seconds back. 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