At the height of his career, MJ as the literal King of Pop

Just three months shy of the 1st anniversary of Michael Jackson's death, his estate has entered into a renewed partnership with Sony Music: a $200 million guaranteed contract with the record label calling for 10 projects to be released during the next seven years.

What's more, the unheard-of contract, which gives Sony exclusive rights to new releases through 2017, could be worth up to $250 million if all aspects of the deal are kept. According to initial reports, the contract calls for at least one project to contain never-before-released Jackson recordings from his legendary vault of recorded, but unused material that could come out as early as November 2010. 

With the exact wording of the contract unknown, speculation is the proposed 10 projects could include everything from a proposed Thriller-inspired video game, a music video compilation DVD or even a rerelease of his acclaimed Off The Wall cd, which was originally released back in 1979.

It seems Sony, in a show of good faith has generously included last year's two-disc cd that coincided with the release of MJ's final concert film, This Is It as part of the 10 projects.  That audio release alone sold more than 5 million units.

This isn't the first time Michael's recording contracts have set records.  Back in 1991, he surpassed Neil Diamond's legenary multi-million dollar Columbia deal when Sony renewed Jackson's contract for a reported $65 million.

In a press statement about the new Jackson deal from Sony Music's chairman, Rob Stringer, the executive said, "We're dedicated to protecting this icon's legacy and we're thrilled that we can continue to bring his music to the world for the foreseeable future."

In death, as in life, Jackson was both blessed and plagued with career highs and lows.  While his is undeniably the King of Pop, with legions of devoted fans, Jackson died a man with near-incomprehensible debt.  At the time of his death, he owed an estimated $400 million. 

That said, since his death there has been an incredible resurgence of popularity for the performer, as evidenced by the concert film This Is It grossing more than $250 million worldwide. The film, coupled with record sales and merch sold after the singer's death brought in new revenue to the estate in the $100 million range.

In recent years, U2, Madonna and Jay-Z all signed with Live Nation Entertainment, Inc. for deals worth in the $100-$150 million range. Jackson's new Sony deal stands apart from those, not only because it's nearly double the dollar amount, but also because his estate still retains the royalties. During his career, Jackson's earned royalties, topped an estimated $500 million.  That's not counting his music holdings, including his 50% of the Sony/ATV Music Publishing, which includes The Beatles' catalog as well as many other mega-artists. Copyright on the catalog alone is estimated at a mind-boggling $2 billion!

Sony's new Jackson contract will no doubt serve to garner financial rewards for both parties, but will allow the legendary entertainer's positive legacy, that of his astounding talent and love of performing to continue to entertain fans for years to come.