That’s $82.5 million over five years, but according to SI’s Jon Heyman, Lackey “sees himself in a higher echelon than Burnett.” I think he’s right to see himself that way. He’s not as erratic as Burnett, and as Heyman notes in the article, the Yankees admire his toughness.
Given the massive increase in revenue the Yankees realized after the new park opened, and given that the World Champions had to rely on a three man rotation in order to win the World Series -- with one of those men being the 37 year-old Andy Pettitte -- you have to figure that the Yankees have leaked out that $82.5 million figure as a starting point for Lackey, not a ceiling.