As an MVP and World Series champion with the Houston Astros, it was only fair that Jose Altuve got the contract he wanted, and obviously deserved. He signed a 5-year extension worth $151 million as he became one of MLB's highest paid players. Only his teammate Justin Verlander has a higher average annual salary than Altuve. And it was him that helped the MVP to get his deal.

According to Chandler Rome of the Houston Chronicle, José Altuve asked for advice to Justin Verlander about the contract extension, as the Venezuelan's priority was getting the deal done before the regular season started. Verlander recalls:

He was like, 'What do you think? And I said, 'Man, if you love Houston and you want to play in Houston for the rest of your career, man, go do it. It's a good deal - it's a great deal - and they're not trying to shortchange you or anything.

Verlander said that Altuve also wanted to improve the market for the second basemen, as Robinson Canó did a few years ago when he signed for the Seattle Mariners, as they signed him in 2013 for ten years and $240 million. Verlander also said

He said, 'I want to make sure I'm doing the right thing for all the other second basemen coming up that are going to be eligible for whatever. Canó took it all the way to 24 (million), which was really good, you know. "I wanted to do that as well. Cano was like five years ago, and he did really good for us (second basemen).

Altuve's current contract goes until 2019, earning $6.5 million per season, meaning that the new deal will begin at the conclusion of the previous one, in 2020. The Venezuelan will earn $30 million in each year of his new contract.

The 27-year old is one of the best players currently in the MLB, winning the American League MVP last year and the conquered the first World Series in Astros' history. He's also a 5-time All-Star.

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