Oct 28, 2012; Detroit, MI, USA; San Francisco Giants catcher Buster Posey hits a two-run home run against the Detroit Tigers in the sixth inning during game four of the 2012 World Series at Comerica Park. Mandatory Credit: Andrew Weber-USA TODAY Sports

When Buster Posey isn’t busy saving kittens out of burning trees, he’s winning MVP awards and World Series trophies. And when that happens in professional sports, you get paid – a lot – like, a lot, a lot, which is exactly what has happened to the Giants’ fourth year backstop.

Today, per Andrew Baggarly, Posey and the Giants agreed on an eight year extension, which effectively becomes a nine year deal in total:

 The Giants have agree to terms on a nine year contract with Buster Posey. (8 year extension).

The deal is worth a reported $167 million dollars and includes a full no-trade clause along with a yearly $50,000 donation to San Francisco Giant sponsored charities.

The extension will buy out Posey’s remaining years of arbitration (three years) and keep Posey in orange and black through the 2021 season, with a club option for 2022 worth $22 million or a $3 million dollar buyout. A Good Friday, indeed.

The biggest ever contract for a catcher was that of the Minnesota Twins’ Joe Mauer, who signed an eight year, $184 million dollar deal in 2010 – at the time the fourth richest contract in MLB history and fourth highest in average salary at $23 million a year. The St. Louis Cardinals Yadier Molina had the second highest contract ever given to a catcher before the Posey contract, raking in an average of $15 million annually on a five year, $75 million dollar deal. Former Yankee’ Jorge Posada and Met Mike Piazza round out the top five highest paid catchers of all time, both averaging $13.1 million when they were signed – Posada in 2008, Piazza in 1999.

Mar. 26, 2013; Scottsdale, AZ, USA; San Francisco Giants starting pitcher Tim Lincecum (center) and teammates look on during the fourth inning against the San Diego Padres at Scottsdale Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Matt Kartozian-USA TODAY Sports

Not that you’d miss it – right – but the boys in orange and black packed up their cleats and gloves yesterday and made their way north where they’ll open up AT&T Park for the 2013 season tonight.

Opposing the cross-bay Athletics, Tim Lincecum will take the hill in the annual pre-season series at 7:15, which will be carried live on CSN-Bay Area. The Giants and Athletics will also play tomorrow night at AT&T Park before heading to Oakland for the series finale on Saturday afternoon.

In addition to what will be the 25 man roster making the trip, the Giants brought along with them a handful of their upper echelon talent (and a couple not-so-upper echelon, sorry Yusmeiro Petit) to get a small taste of what could be just a few years away. Along with the aforementioned Petit, Joe Panik, Heath Hembree, Nick Noonan, Jackson Williams, Ehire Adrianza and Jake Dunning will spend a few days in the Bay to be something other than a $25 dollar a day “extra” who has to make the drive from Fresno to spend a few hours shagging balls or being the pickle in a run-down drill.

And for those wondering, yes, it will be the Golden Boy Buster Posey catching Lincecum tonight. Please, don’t hurt him, Tim. He’s kind of important and stuff.