In the 11/29/10 issue of The Wall Street Journal, page A19, former MLB Commissioner Fay Vincent speculated that Albert Pujols will probably negotiate a salary of around $35 million annually in a four or five year agreement. In addition to being interesting in and of itself, I also found his speculation to be noteworthy for the ongoing debate about how much it will take to sign Joey Votto to a long term deal. No, Votto hasn't put together ten straight Pujols type seasons, but he just put one together and at his age he is probable to put together several more, so anyone thinking Votto can be had for $10 million a year is probably optimistic.
Anyway, the amount of Pujols's annual salary was not the thrust of Vincent's article ( I do not believe it is available online). Vincent argued that Pujols should to convert a portion of his compensation from ordinary income to capital gains income, which is taxed at a lower rate. He could do that by getting an ownership interest in the Cardinals as part of his compensation. Highly paid business executives and movie stars get part of their compensation by getting a piece of the action with shares in the corporation they work for or with an ownership interest in their films. Vincent mentions the riches William Holden gained from having a share in "The Bridge on the River Kwai."
Vincent wrote that while someone such as Pujols could be required to sell any ownership interest if he later left the team, but even then the gain could be substantial. He speculated on how rich Mickey Mantle would have been at the end of his life had he been able to acquire even a tiny share in the Yankees in 1961.