The numbers had been crunched and all the scenarios exhausted Monday night when Cliff Lee finally made his decision.

He picked up the phone, thanked Rangers general manager Jon Daniels for his time in Texas and revealed he was signing with the Philadelphia Phillies. Agent Darek Braunecker simultaneously delivered the news to New York Yankees general manager Brian Cashman. And just like that, Lee was back where he felt he belonged.

The most intriguing negotiation of the hot stove season came to a stunning conclusion late Monday when Lee, 32, spurned bigger offers from the Yankees and Rangers and agreed to a five-year, guaranteed $120 million contract with the Phillies, sources said. The deal includes an "easily reachable" vesting option for a sixth year, a source said, and most likely will ensure that Lee finishes his career in a Philadelphia uniform.

Lee is slated to make $11 million next season with his salary jumping to $21.5 million in 2012 and an additional bump to $25 million in each of the next three seasons, according to information obtained by The Associated Press.

Lee's deal includes a $27.5 million option that vests if he pitches 200 innings in 2015 or a total of 400 innings over the 2014-15 seasons. If the option doesn't vest, the deal includes a $12.5 million buyout.

Lee joins Carl Crawford of the Boston Red Sox and Jayson Werth of the Washington Nationals as the third free agent to sign a contract of more than $100 million this offseason. In addition, Colorado shortstop Troy Tulowitzki recently signed an extension that tacked $134 million onto his deal with the Rockies.

Lee's agreement carries the third-biggest guarantee ever for a pitcher, behind CC Sabathia's $161 million contract with the Yankees and Barry Zito's $126 million deal with the San Francisco Giants. But in the end, his negotiations were as much about heartstrings as purse strings.

In July 2009, Phillies general manager Ruben Amaro Jr. acquired Lee from the Cleveland Indians to be a stretch-drive savior in a pennant race. Lee helped pitch the Phillies into the playoffs and posted a 2-0 record with a 2.81 ERA in Philadelphia's World Series loss to the Yankees.

Beyond that, Lee came to embrace the clubhouse culture in Philadelphia, and he and his wife, Kristen, quickly grew to love the city. So when the Phillies acquired pitcher Roy Halladay in a trade with Toronto last December and sent Lee to Seattle for three prospects in an ancillary move, it came as a crushing disappointment to the family. One Phillies front-office member said the Lees were "heartbroken" by the news.

Lee split the 2010 season between Seattle and Texas, dominated the postseason before suffering two losses to San Francisco in the World Series, and was at the top of every publication's free-agent rankings in November. The Yankees and Rangers quickly made their interest known, sending delegations to Lee's home in Little Rock, Ark., and gradually increasing their offers well beyond their initial comfort zones.