It’s the news St. Louis Cardinals fans have been waiting for: Adam Wainwright has agreed to a contract extension with the team.

From Jenifer Langosch at Cardinals.com:

MLB.com has confirmed that the two sides have agreed on a five-year extension that will begin after this season. Ken Rosenthal of FOXSports.com and MLB Network reported that the deal is worth $97.5 million. Wainwright is already under contract to earn $12 million in 2013. The Cardinals have not confirmed the report, but did announce that they have scheduled a news conference for 9 a.m. CT on Thursday.

Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch has more on Wainwright and the extension here, including this reaction from Jake Westbrook:

“He’s a guy first and foremost who is a great teammate,” starter Jake Westbrook said of Wainwright. “The stuff he has (on the mound). He’s the full package of what you look for in your ace. We’re going to feed off of him and go from there. … The confidence. The family stuff. All aces have the stuff to dominate baseball games. They’re an ace for a reason. They can go out there and dominate a baseball game.”

Wainwright will get to celebrate his contract in five more days, when he’s the Opening Day starter for the Cardinals against the Arizona Diamondbacks.