On January 11, 2005, Humber and the Mets agreed to a five-year contract, ending a long holdout the day before the Mets began their two-day minicamp in Port St. Lucie, Florida. Humber and the Mets were motivated to complete a deal due to a change in federal tax law that made signing bonuses subject to Federal Insurance Contributions Act and Social Security taxes. There is some discrepancy about the value of the contract. According to MLB.com, Humber received a combined $3.7 million signing bonus and contract from the Mets. The "Houston Chronicle" reported the contract to be a $4.2 million deal with a $3 million signing bonus and that Humber would fly to minicamp. Six months later, Lee Jenkins of "The New York Times" also reported the signing bonus to be $3 million, but he claimed the contract was for $5 million in total. John Manuel of "Baseball America" reported the contract was worth a maximum of $5.116 million, with $4.2 million guaranteed.