Baseball is really unlike any other sport in the way contracts are structured. Essentially teams own certain players up to a point (which is why everyone puts so much emphasis on developing their farm systems and bringing up their own players). Howard hasn't been in the league long enough to earn arbitration status, and then after that you become a normal free agent. Most teams try to sign their young talent to a "real" deal especially someone like Howard. An example of this would be the Mets with Reyes and Wright. In Howard's case, and also recently Prince Fielder, the team couldn't come to acceptable terms so they have no choice but to renew the contract at a price they (the team) determines. For reference, Howards deal is the largest renewed contract ever, with good cause, but obviously it doesn't measure up to what it would be if he was a free agent, or even in arbitration.