Long before he signed the paperwork -- and, more importantly, the check -- that made him principal owner of the Milwaukee Brewers, Mark Attanasio was fully aware of the team's reputation as an incubator of young talent that would eventually leave for bigger money elsewhere.

It was a notion that didn't sit well with him then, especially considering the stockpile of prospects getting seasoned in the team's farm system.

"Since I got here I've been reading about how Milwaukee was a farm system for the big cities and the major market teams," Attanasio said. "I would always bristle at that, but I hadn't really been through the process so for all I knew, that was the case."

The days of grooming up-and-coming ballplayers, only to see them cash in via free agency or be traded in a cost-saving move have come and gone. Attanasio reinforced that point by signing leftfielder Ryan Braun to a seven-year contract extension worth $45 million.

By no means is it the first time Attanasio has shown willingness to open his checkbook. Before last season, Attanasio shelled out $42 million to pitcher Jeff Suppan and was willing to offer big money to Carlos Lee, who was eventually traded to Texas when it became clear he had no  interest in staying in Milwaukee.

Attanasio gave general manager Doug Melvin the go-ahead to spend more than $10 million to remake the bullpen during the offseason. Moves like those have helped the franchise shed the dreaded too-small-a-market label it has worn for more than a decade.

"What this says is we can keep our young players here and more importantly, we have young players here who want to stay here and want to play here," Attanasio said. "That's a real message to the community, to the team and to the other players we might sign or make a trade for."

That the Brewers are to shell out those kinds of contracts isn't just a statement on the improving talent in the organization; it's also a reflection of just how well the business side of the Brewers' operation is doing.

Last year, the team -- thanks in large part to sitting on top of the National League Central for most of the season -- drew 2,869,144 fans to Miller Park; the fourth consecutive year that the Brewers surpassed the 2 million mark.

"The team is in very good financial position," Attanasio said. "One of the things we wanted to do from the beginning was we wanted to run the busniess properly as a business. One of the reasons was when we had an opportunity like we did with Ryan and with others, we can make longer-term commitments."

More butts in the seats means more money flowing into the organization, which means the team can afford to keep its young nucleus together, as well as taking chances like general manger Doug Melvin did with Eric Gagne.

The embattled closer accounts for $10 million of the team's $80 million opening day payroll. Also on the books is a little more than $3 million being paid to reliever Derrick Turnbow, who is struggling to save his career with Class AAA Nashville. The big contracts of starter Ben Sheets ($12.12 million), Bill Hall ($4.92 million), Jason Kendall ($4.25 million) and Craig Counsell ($2.8 million) also account for a majority of the salary.

Even with the increased payroll, Attanasio has expressed his willingness to go higher, but only if the right opportunity arises. With starter Yovani Gallardo out for the season, Melvin has the green light to pick up a higher-priced replacement if such a move doesn't hinder the franchise's long-term efforts.

"We have flexibility in the payroll for whatever it turns out we need," Attanasio said. "Doug has to measure that, and measure it at the right time."

The owner's openness to spending money is something the players in the locker room are keenly aware of. With Prince Fielder, Corey Hart, J.J. Hardy and Rickie Weeks on the verge of arbitration, Braun hopes that his deal is the first of many.

"We have a lot of great young players, a lot of guys that enjoy playing with each other," Braun said after inking his deal. "I certainly hope this starts a trend. It would be great if we could play together for quite a few years to come."

With Attanasio calling the shots, it's easy to believe that it will happen.