For the second consecutive summer, the Nationals signed the first-overall pick to a record-setting deal. Last August, it was Stephen Strasburg, and tonight Bryce Harper made history. The 17-year-old gets a major league deal that guarantees him $9.9MM over five years - more guaranteed money than any position player in draft history. Of the $9.9MM, $6.25MM is a bonus.
The buzz surrounding Harper started last year, when he appeared on the cover of Sports Illustrated as a 16-year-old. Harper, still just 17, got his GED early, enrolled at the College of Southern Nevada and won the 2010 Golden Spikes Award as the countryās top amateur player.
Mark Teixeira previously held the record for the biggest deal given to a position player ($9.5MM) and last year's top pick, Strasburg, holds the record for the biggest deal in draft history ($15.1MM). Scott Boras advises Teixeira, Strasburg and Harper.
The Nationals have confirmed the deal, after it broke on Twitter. Jim Bowden of Sirius XM Radio, Kendall Rogers of Yahoo Sports, Jon Heyman of SI.com, Yahoo's Tim Brown and Adam Kilgore of the Washington Post were among the reporters who contributed to the story.
Click here for the complete list of 2010 first rounders to sign.
rizzo is a smooth operator getting harper signed for less then the record
Agreed. They made him seem like the second coming.
WOW! That’s unreal, nothing like an absolutely loaded 2011 draft to leave Boras and Co. with zero negotiating leverage.
That’s a massive coup for the Nats. Well done, Mike Rizzo
Yes!
Now he better get rid of that garbage eye black he wears. If he doesn’t, I hope in his first major league AB the pitcher beans him in the chest.
I wish I could like that post twice.
He already said on Draft night that he would not be bringing the black eye makeup with him. Rizzo also said that he wouldn’t be allowed to wear it.
Isn’t eye black used to reduce sun glare? He was playing college in Nevada in day games, I don’t blame him for the eye black.
It’s not just the eye black. If he wore it like everyone els, no one would talknabput it. But Harper wore like warpaint, like he was baseballs version of The Crow.
Great job by the Nats, I thought he’d get a lot more.
omedetto gozaimas. Really happy for my team.
EDIT: According to another source, it is 10 M dollars. ??
Wow. That’s great for the nats. They’ve really improved their farm this year.
Rumors are going around that Bowden got punked and it’s 10M
hahahahahaahaha nice try jim bowden
Report at Nationals.com indicates that it was more like the $10 million expected, quoting “a baseball source.” Either way, good signing. If they got him for $6.5 (or $6.25, as he suggested in a later tweet), amazing. If not, it’s just one more reason for Nats fans to hate Jim Bowden for making us think it was an absolute steal.
The most important thing is that they got it done…. and got Cole signed… and Solis… and Robbie Ray….. GREAT draft and signing deadline for the organization.
that is a big bonus. IF he gets that he will end up $16.15 million
according 2 tim brown harper is still only the 2nd highest behind teix so i have 2 think there is still soem confusiion as to what this bonus consist of or if it even exists
Great job Rizzo.
the nats are putting together a nice team, next years draft will wield them yet another early and lucrative pick seeing how deep the draft is
yeah the nats need another year or so and they should have a team to contend with. they could be the next rays. in 2012 the marlins and nats will be ridiculous
They could potentially be great teams, but you never know. Hopefully the prospects pan out and the org can fill in around the talent with some successful role players. Time will tell as it always does.
He’s 17 right now. I wouldn’t be surprised with what I hear about him if he’s in the Majors at 19. Especially on the Nationals.
Nats have some holes on their roster for sure, but I don’t see how we’re so bad that that will lead us to rush him. We’ll be aggressive mostly because he’s signed to a major league deal and has a lot of self-confidence.
This is not meant to antagonize Nat fans…but, I really hope Harper is a bust.
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Who do you root for? Just curious. I’m hoping the minors help him mature a bit and help people realize that baseball’s system does a bit better of reining in egos than basketball’s and football’s.
YOU READ IT HERE FIRST! (Or maybe not…)
Bryce Harper will be a bust; not a complete bust, but he will be nothing more than average at best.
ludafish, the marlins in 2012? who cares. i care about 2010 only. a lot can change about a team in 2 years.
I have mixed feelings on the kid… I think the eye makeup was him being a superhero. It reminds me of some kind of comic book character… I think it would be a great story for a kid from THIS country finally getting a chance to play baseball instead of wasting his time in school. There are school people and their is not school people. My brother was the same way. He played baseball and football and was the best in our town but hated school and it didn’t matter that you had to get good grades to play. He just wouldn’t play. Now he does roofing work and sells “stuff” on the side. Maybe if he was given a chance to play seriously at a young age like so many kids from the island countries things would have turned out differently. Not every kid is going to be a straight A student. There has to be middle of the road youth. What if some of that youth plays baseball or football or any other sport and they just happen to be better than most at it? You could be the best and you don’t have the opportunity because youre not capable of enjoying school enough to sit through it for 7 hours a day. Not every kid is made up the same way. Some are studious and play sports. Some are NOT studious and are excellent at sports.
Old school article!