By JOSH EZZELL - Aug. 15, 2007 - 8:40 p.m.

Many people dream of winning the lottery.

On Wednesday afternoon former Blackman and Vanderbilt standout David Price, who was the No. 1 pick in the 2007 Major League Baseball Draft, lived people’s dream when he signed a six-year deal with the Tampa Bay Devil Rays worth a guaranteed $8.5 million and as much as $11.25 million. The guaranteed money of Price’s contract is the third most in draft history behind Mark Prior ($10.5 million) and Mark Teixeira ($9.5 million).

His deal also includes a $5.6 million signing bonus, which is the second most in Major League Baseball Draft history behind that of Arizona’s Justin Upton, who got $6.1 million in 2005.

“I’m definitely very happy,” Price said. “It’s a load off my shoulders.”

The deal came down to the wire. Price and the Devil Rays had until 11 p.m. Wednesday to reach a deal. Otherwise, Price, who registered for fall classes at Vanderbilt, would’ve returned to school and re-entered the draft as a senior. The Devil Rays would’ve received the No. 2 pick in the 2008 draft as compensation.

“He did pretty good,” said Bo McKinnis, Price’s agent. “Everyone’s happy in the end.

“But we’re not surprised it took us until August,” added McKinnis, who’s based in Nashville and negotiated former MTSU standout Dewon Brazelton’s contract with the Devil Rays in 2001. “We didn’t expect it to take until the last day. It was a little stressful.”

Price, however, remained confident the deal would get done.

“We never wavered,” Price said. “We always stayed positive.”

Price will fly to Tampa Bay Thursday to meet with the local media.

At Blackman he had a 0.43 ERA with 151 strikeouts.

The former Blackman enjoyed a stellar career at Vanderbilt.

As a junior he won the Golden Spikes Award and Dick Howser Trophy. He was the SEC Male Athlete of the Year and SEC Pitcher of the Year. He went 11-1 with a 2.63 ERA and tallied 194 strikeouts — a school single-season record — in 133.1 innings pitched.

He was third-team All-American as a junior with a 9-5 record and 4.16 ERA. He was a Freshman All-American after going 2-4 with a 2.86 ERA in 19 games.