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If this ultimately proved to be a game of Russian roulette between the Alouettes and S.J. Green, as it appeared for the longest time, the argument could be made the veteran receiver won — after he agreed to a three-year contract and avoided free agency, it was announced Wednesday afternoon.

Yes, the Alouettes blinked first.

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But it also could be argued the Canadian Football League team won. The price might have been heavy, but the Als probably couldn’t have entered a new season without Green and Duron Carter — who is expected to sign with the NFL’s Indianapolis Colts —and hoped to remain the least bit competitive offensively.

“Today, I’m a better football coach than I was yesterday,” Als head coach Tom Higgins proclaimed during a news conference at a downtown hotel. “I wasn’t concerned we were going to lose two receivers. I truly believed — and I’m the eternal optimist — that S.J. was going to be a Montreal Alouette.”

And Green, 29, will be a rich Alouette, becoming the highest-paid non-quarterback in the league.

It’s believed Green will receive in the vicinity of $250,000 annually, various sources have told the Montreal Gazette. That total would include a base salary and signing bonus divided fairly evenly. Saskatchewan’s Chris Getzlaf had been the league’s highest-paid receiver, earning about $225,000, while Toronto’s Chad Owens is paid $205,000, according to sources.