Barely a year since his death, Michael Jackson signed what industry watchers say is the “biggest deal ever in music.”

The players behind the deal are long-time Jackson attorney and friend, John Branca, who is now part of the team administering the estate’s affairs, and Jackson’s long-time record label, Sony.

This deal is now reportedly worth up to $250 million in advances and other payments for the estate, with a particularly high royalty rate for record sales in and outside the United States (as 2/3 of Jackson’s sales come from overseas).

To put this in perspective, it has been reported that five years ago, Bruce Springsteen had signed a deal with Sony worth a reported $110 million; in 2008, Live Nation and Jay-Z went on a partnership for $150 million that included record deals, concert tours and other rights. Jackson’s posthumous deal eclipses both.

The deal will allow Sony and the Jackson estate to collaborate on a wide range of deals like licensing agreements for movies, TV and shows as well as tons of memorabilia for the millions of fans that still want them.

This partnership will last through 2017 and produce 10 projects, one of which is a new album of previously unreleased recordings.

Branca claims that they entered the agreement owing to the fact that the new generation is now discovering Michael Jackson. A huge part of the decision also came from the fact that “This Is It” became a major hit at the box office.

The New York Times reports that while sales for Jackson’s music had leveled off after the initial rush months after his death, it has remained high. As such, Jackson has become 2009’s biggest-selling artist in the U.S. with 8.3 million combined album sales and 12.4 million downloads as reported by Nielsen SoundScan.

And that, folks, is the Michael Jackson magic.