The deal was reached four weeks earlier on the final day of the winter meetings and took nearly a month to complete. There are three separate agreements.

Additional Photos

In this July 30, 2011, photo, then-St. Louis Cardinals first baseman Albert Pujols follows through on a solo home run in a game against the Chicago Cubs. AP

Los Angeles Angels' Albert Pujols puts on his new jersey as his wife Deidre Pujols, left, and his son Alberto Pujols Jr. look on during a baseball news conference in Anaheim on Dec. 12, 2011. AP

The team and Pujols will enter a 10-year, personal-services agreement following the playing contract’s expiration or Pujols’ retirement, whichever is later, a deal that will pay $1 million annually. But because it is contingent on Pujols actually working for the team, it is not considered guaranteed money for the purposes of baseball’s luxury tax.

High-payroll teams such as the New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox are likely to examine that structure closely and may emulate it in future agreements.

There also is a marketing agreement that will pay Pujols for milestone accomplishments. The player will receive $3 million for 3,000 hits and $7 million for a record 763rd home run. He currently has 2,073 hits and 445 home runs.

Including all three agreements, Pujols could make up to $265.75 million over 20 years. That includes $875,000 in possible award bonuses each year for accomplishments such as Most Valuable Player, World Series and league championship series MVP, Gold Glove and Silver Slugger, and making the All-Star team.

Like C.J. Wilson’s $77.5 million, five-year contract, which also was agreed to Dec. 8, Pujols’ deal is heavily backloaded. His 2012 salary will be $12 million, down from the $16 million he made last year in the option year of his contract with the St. Louis Cardinals.

Pujols salary increases to $16 million in 2013 and $23 million in 2014, then rises $1 million annually until he makes $30 million in 2021, when he will be 41.