8 years, $138. Mets may have overpaid somewhat, sure, like I said, long-term deals for stars are generally contracts where you have to pay more than they're actually worth. I would guess he'd get more on the open market. The contract actually saved the Mets $8M this season compared to what he was going to make from his last contract, and much of the contract is loaded up into the 2014-2018 years. Gives the impression that the Mets think they'll be able to spend money and compete during that time. Also, his age 36 and 37 years are much less than his 2014-2018 years. Wright specifically asked for this so that the Mets wouldn't be hamstrung by a high-priced, declining player.
AGAIN, it's not the point. If the Mets offered much less than that, Wright probably tests free agency and loses him. My point with Jeter was that the Yankees probably could have offered half the contract they did to a declining, poor defensive 37 year old Jeter, and could have signed him for that, as that was probably still over his market value. Obviously, he had a good year last year, but he easily had the worst year of his career in 2010, and 37 year old middle infielders generally don't improve over time.
I don't really understand your last point. Yes, fans were starting to turn on Jeter, which is one of the reasons why Jeter ultimately would have signed the 3/24 contract I'm proposing.