The £135,000 a week Chelsea will be paying John Terry until 2012 is a fortune. A hideous amount of money to pay one man and further proof that football operates on a whole other level of reality.

But in purely relative terms, JT is probably worth that obscene amount. Here are 10 reasons why:

1. Lucas Neill is reportedly earning £60,000 a week at West Ham, so relatively speaking £135,000 a week for John Terry is an absolute bargain.

2. Michael Ballack and Andriy Shevchenko are both on £130,000 a week. John Terry has to be worth £5k a week more than either of those two, based on what they contribute to Chelsea.

3. The England captain is only 26. Based on the careers of other central defenders, his best five years are ahead of him.

4. Given the problems even the richest clubs have finding suitable centre backs, Chelsea would be insane not to pay whatever it took to keep John Terry at Stamford Bridge.

5. Despite his recent mega-wealth, the presence of John Terry prevents Chelsea looking like a traveling band of foreign millionaire playboys. I'm aware that that's a Sci-Fi Channel worthy paradox. But in the era of expensive, overpaid foreigners (that, in all fairness, Chelsea helped usher in) having a London born and bred captain and talisman who looks like he could win a pub brawl is literally priceless.

6. Especially when you're Roman Abramovich, and the word priceless has no meaning.

7. One club men should be rewarded.

8. How do we know someone hasn't broken down what John Terry actually contributes on the field and decided to pay him £1,000 per tackle, header or clearance, plus £10,000 for every time he shouts loudly and points at someone?

9. Did you see Chelsea without him last season?

10. John Terry singlehandedly disproves the rule that you should never trust a man with two first names.