WASHINGTON Unable to contain his jubilation, Francisco Lindor unleashed a short celebratory scream in his hotel room late Wednesday when his agent informed him that the Mets had agreed to give him a franchise record 10-year, $341 million contract extension.

Shortly after, as Lindor told his father about his brief outburst and suggested he wanted to yell even more, Miguel Lindor urged his son to practice decorum and not to make a racket in the hotel.

No chance of that. And the only way Francisco Lindor, 27, could make his father understand how impossible it would have been to remain quiet at such a moment was to make a comparison an average person might be able to grasp.

You know when you drive down the highway and you see a billboard for the Powerball that says $300 million? Lindor, the Mets gifted shortstop, told reporters on a video conference call on Thursday. Imagine you getting that right now. You are going to tell me you arent going to scream? I am going to scream. I want to scream. Ive been working for years my whole entire life.

After several days of high-stakes negotiations, Lindor hit baseballs lottery when team owner Steven Cohen agreed to sign Lindor to the largest contract the Mets have ever given to a player, a deal worth $1 million more than the 14-year contract San Diego Padres shortstop Fernando Tatis, 22, agreed to in February.

Lindors extension, which includes a limited no-trade clause, kicks in after this season. He was already set to earn $22.3 million this season, and this extension commits him to the Mets through 2031.

Im humbled by this opportunity to be in this organization for the next 11 years, said Lindor, who was drafted by Cleveland in 2011. Its an honor, its a privilege to wear blue and orange.

But for a couple of days it felt as if it might not happen. Lindor, whom the Mets acquired from Cleveland in a January trade, and the Mets reached the agreement less than 24 hours before a Thursday deadline that Lindor had set at the time of the trade. Missing that deadline of opening day would ostensibly have halted negotiations until after the season, when Lindor would have entertained offers from any of the other 29 teams.

But with the deal in place, Lindor enters a new season without the pressure to perform well enough to earn over a third of a billion dollars in free agency. He also avoids the possibility of being thrown into a glutted shortstop market with several other excellent players, like Houstons Carlos Correa, the Chicago Cubs Javier Baez, the Los Angeles Dodgers Corey Seager and Colorados Trevor Story, each of whom will potentially hit free agency at the same time.

For some players, the pressure of producing a strong statistical year ahead of free agency can result in a substandard season. But Lindor said he always felt the pressure to perform, regardless of his contract status.

The need to put up great numbers? Thats there every year, he said, Whether it was rookie season, sophomore season, third year, fourth and so on. I want to put up good numbers to win. I want to win. If I put up good numbers I give my team a chance to win.

Indeed, Lindor had already put up some of the best numbers in baseball at any position in his six seasons with Cleveland, and the contract demonstrated that the Mets see him as a foundational player for the next decade, ready to take his place among the best all-around Mets position players ever.

Not only is he a brilliant defensive shortstop, but he hit at least 32 home runs and 40 doubles in each of the three full seasons before the pandemic and he scored at least 99 runs in each of his last four full seasons. He also has more home runs (111) and extra base hits (258) than any other shortstop over the last four seasons.

Although he has not yet played a real game for the Mets Thursdays scheduled season opener was postponed because the Washington Nationals had a coronavirus outbreak Lindor said he felt comfortable enough with the team during spring training to commit to them, and feels the Mets have a core group of players that are good enough to compete for a championship, especially with the Mets now able to rely on Cohens financial resources backing the operation.

Lindor added that he was not bothered by any of Cohens comments on his Twitter account during the final days of negotiations, especially when the talks appeared to have stalled. Cohen had written that he would crowdsource suggestions for how much to pay Lindor, and later said that he hoped Lindor would sign on with the Mets for what at that time appeared to be the teams final offer of $325 million.

The crowdsource one, that was funny, that was a funny one, Lindor said. I told them at dinner. The other ones, at that point I already shut down my phone and everything on social media. So, I didnt really care too much for it, because at that point it was like, All right, were either going to get this done or not.

After the deal was finalized, Lindor said he spent the rest of the night alone in his room, calling his fiancée whom he described as nervous about moving to a big city like New York his close friends in and out of the game, and family members, especially his father, who helped teach Lindor how to play baseball with grueling drills when the son was a kid.

Lindor is very close to his father and said that no matter how much money he makes, his fathers stern example and high standards will ensure that Lindor will always work as hard as he can.

It is possible that a little kid from Puerto Rico, that wasnt the best in school, that wasnt the most fluent talking, that came to the States not knowing the language, that stayed in a hotel with his stepmom, his dad his stepsister and his little sister in one hotel room with just a microwave. Look where I am today.

When Lindor was asked if he had any messages for supporters of the Mets now that the deal was completed, he flashed that signature smile that has earned him the nickname, Mr. Smile.

Here we go, baby, he said. We have 11 years together.

For Mets fans who have waited over a decade for their team to sign a huge contract for a marquee superstar, those words could be enough to make some of them scream out, too.