What was reported as close earlier Wednesday is now official: The Red Sox have signed Manager Alex Cora to a three-year contract extension that spans from 2025-2027, according to an announcement from the team.

The deal is worth $21.75 million, according to ESPN’s Buster Olney, meaning it comes with an average annual value of $7.25 million. That will make Cora the second-highest paid manager in baseball behind the Cubs’ Craig Counsell, who is earning $8 million in the first year of a five-year, $40 million deal he signed last fall. In 2025, Cora will receive a raise of $4.5 million; he’s making $2.75 million in 2024.

The news shocked many in baseball circles. Cora’s current contract expires after the season and he previously said – quite adamantly, on numerous occasions – that he was not willing to discuss a contract during the season. It was thought Cora wanted to test free agency, as Counsell did last year, with big-market clubs like the Yankees, Phillies and Dodgers potentially looming if any of those jobs were to come open. In the end, Cora decided it was best for him and his family to stay in Boston, where he has managed for six seasons over two stints separated by a year-long suspension in 2020.

In a press release, both Cora and chief baseball officer Craig Breslow spoke about why the decision was made.

“I had a tremendous amount of respect for Alex long before I took this job; that respect has only grown these last several months,” said Breslow. “He is an incredible people connector, something I have enjoyed watching firsthand. He has embraced Boston’s passionate fans and we share a desire to win as much as they do, both in 2024 and in the future. I’m happy to be able to extend our commitment to Alex, and I look forward to our partnership continuing to grow. I congratulate him, Angelica, and their family.”

“Today is about the Cora-Feliciano family,” said Cora. “We love Boston and are very comfortable here. The Red Sox gave us a chance back in 2017 and doubled down on us prior to the 2021 season, and I’m happy to say our future is here as well. I’d like to thank John Henry, Tom Werner, Mike Gordon, Sam Kennedy and Craig Breslow for their confidence in me. I’m excited about not only where we are as an organization, but also where we are going.”

Cora was hired after the 2017 season and directed the Red Sox to the 2018 World Series title. After the 2019 season, he was implicated in the Houston Astros’ 2017 sign-stealing scandal and eventually suspended by MLB for the 2020 season. He and the Red Sox “mutually agreed” to part ways, with Ron Roenicke hired to manage the Red Sox that season.

On the final weekend of the 2020 season, the Red Sox dismissed Roenicke, and in their search for a replacement, they returned to Cora, who directed the Red Sox to the 2021 ALCS before losing to the Astros in six games.

In 2022 and 2023, the Red Sox finished out of the playoffs and in last place in the American League East.

Last fall, when the Red Sox hired Breslow, the team’s new chief baseball officer said he felt no urgency to address Cora’s contractual situation, even as the manager neared the 2024 season as a potential lame duck.

That seemed OK with Cora, who in one of his first availabilities this past spring wouldn’t answer a question about whether he wished to keep managing the club past 2024.

The team’s surprising play through the first 100 games this season enhanced Cora’s position, however.

Citing the need to spend more time with his family, Cora has made no secret that he doesn’t plan to be a managerial lifer, remaining in the dugout into his 60s and 70s. He’s also said that he would like to work in a front office capacity, though he took himself out of consideration for the job that eventually went to Breslow.