BOSTON -- Yes, Mike Lowell had more dollars on the table from other teams. He also had that highly coveted fourth year that he so wanted ever since becoming a free agent a few weeks back.

But the one thing Lowell never did get was the conviction that he'd be happier with the more lucrative offer than he would be with the Boston Red Sox, where he's made a true baseball home for the last two years.

So Lowell, the businessman, gave way to Lowell, the ballplayer, and Lowell, the family man, and the popular third baseman's run in Boston will continue after a three-year, $37.5 million deal was officially announced on Tuesday.

The Red Sox no longer have to worry about replacing the MVP of the 2007 World Series. And Lowell no longer needs to worry about finding a new home.

"I have financial security so I'd like to believe I'm not all about money," Lowell said. "I feel like I'm more of a baseball player than a businessman. I kind of weighed where I felt comfortable, where I thought I could produce the best with the team that has a chance to win a world championship, and it was Boston. On top of that, we just won and I think I played with a set of teammates that are unparalleled and with a manager the same way and with a fan base that's unbelievable.

"I think all of those came into play. I really don't believe that everything should be about money. I've had teammates in the past that have gone to other places and sometimes they have second thoughts because they took more money elsewhere. I just didn't think my happiness should just be bought by dollars."

The Red Sox were grateful that Lowell took that approach. Just like Curt Schilling a couple of weeks ago, Lowell forfeited the top dollar available so he could help the Red Sox defend their World Series championship.

"I want to say a quick word just about how thrilled the Red Sox are to have Mike back," said Red Sox general manager Theo Epstein. "He's turned himself into a fundamental part of this organization. As Mike said, the process wasn't always easy every step of the way. I think, in the end, both sides are really happy that it got done and that he's going to be back here for three years. It's a credit to Mike's character that he passed up more money elsewhere to come back to Boston. We don't take that for granted."

The Phillies and Dodgers are believed to be two of the teams that would have gone four years to bring Lowell to their organizations.

"Suffice it to say that there were numerous clubs interested and Mike received offers for monumentally more money," Seth Levinson, one of Lowell's representatives, wrote in an e-mail. "The Sox deal is for less years and less money than had been offered by other teams. This deal was driven solely by Mike's heart and passion for the fans, his teammates, his manager and the team."

The deal was basically agreed to on Monday, but Epstein and the Levinson brothers -- Seth and Sam --- had to finalize language in the contract before making it official.

Bringing back Lowell was an equally popular move with the players and the fans. Schilling used the word "ecstatic" on his blog on Monday in summing up his feelings -- and those of his teammates -- on Lowell's return. While Lowell is one of the most respected figures in the clubhouse, he has also become a fan favorite in just two years with the Red Sox.

Boston fans have always had an affinity for the blue-collar players, who give maximum effort for every at-bat and inning, and Lowell has certainly been the epitome of that.

"I feel the fans have embraced me and I feel like I've embraced the fan base of Boston since day one," said Lowell. "I've enjoyed playing in Boston since the first day I got traded. Hopefully that can remain for three more years."

During the on-field celebration at Coors Field after the Red Sox won the World Series, fans chanted "Re-sign Lowell."

In the end, Epstein couldn't claim that public sentiment factored into the decision.

"It's hard not to notice how much affection our fans have for Mike and how much they wanted to see him back. To be honest with you, we really try to completely factor that out of the equation," Epstein said. "I think our philosophy in the front office is that we try to please our fans in October. That's the most important time of year you can do things on the field to make them happy. When it comes to November and December and making decisions, we just have to do what's in the best interest of the Red Sox organization for the short term and the long term.

"In this case, we're happy that what was in our best interest also matched our fans' wishes. We think, ultimately, what makes our fans happy is to win. Mike Lowell is a big part of us winning."

Now that Lowell is back in the fold, he can go about trying to help the Red Sox become the first team to win back-to-back World Series since the Yankees won it three times in a row from 1998-2000.

"We feel like we should be able to do it again, or at least make a good run," Lowell said. "Hopefully guys can stay healthy and have the years they're capable of having. We expect to make the playoffs and go very deep into the playoffs again. There shouldn't be any reason why we wouldn't."

From the start, 2007 was a special year for Lowell. He started hot and never really cooled off, producing career highs in batting average (.324), hits (191), RBIs (120) and on-base percentage (.378). Lowell also belted 21 homers and produced 37 doubles while slugging .501. His home batting average was .373.

Though Lowell made a career-high 15 errors, he remained strong on defense, making plenty of highlight-reel plays from the hot corner.

In the postseason, Lowell kept it going, hitting .353 with two homers and 15 RBIs. En route to his MVP performance in the World Series, Lowell went 6-for-15 with a homer and four RBIs as the Red Sox swept the Rockies.

Lowell came to Boston along with Josh Beckett in a blockbuster trade for Hanley Ramirez, who has developed into a star, on Thanksgiving 2005. At the time of the trade, Beckett was perceived as the centerpiece to the deal, while Lowell was merely a throw in.

But Lowell proved that his subpar year for the Marlins in 2005 (.236, eight homers, 58 RBIs) was an aberration, and not a sign that his career was trending downward. In fact, Lowell became the first third baseman in the storied history of the Red Sox to belt 20 homers in back-to-back seasons.

As with any negotiations, there were ups and downs before this process reached a happy conclusion for both sides.

"I think some negotiations have a really sound process and have mutual interests on both sides but are complicated sometimes by the nature of the market and the nature of the individual situation," Epstein said. "In this case, we almost had to go through a little bit of a rough patch where it wasn't clear necessarily if Mike would return, at least from our perspective, in order to ultimately get to the point we got to, with Mike returning. We're just glad it turned out the way it did and Mike throughout the whole process was very honest with us and never hid his desire to return to Boston, which sometimes players try to conceal that to improve their negotiating position. In Mike's case, he never hid that desire, nor did we hide our desire to bring him back."

In the end, Lowell saw to it that baseball won out over business.