Below is our list of the 29 largest contracts in MLB history by average annual value (AAV). Please note that if a player was already under contract and signed an extension, only the new money counts. For our list of the largest contracts in total dollars, click here.
1. Shohei Ohtani, Dodgers: $70,000,000. Free agent contract signed December 2023. 97.1% of the total is deferred from 2034-43. As a result, for luxury tax purposes, MLB calculated the AAV at $46.06MM. The MLBPA calculated the AAV at $43,783,056.30.
2. Juan Soto, Mets: $51,000,000. Free agent contract signed December 2024. Given the lack of deferred money, this should be treated as the true AAV record.
3. Max Scherzer, Mets: $43,333,333.33. Free agent contract signed November 2021
4. Justin Verlander, Mets: $43,330,000. Free agent contract signed December 2022
5. Zack Wheeler, Phillies: $42,000,000. Extension signed March 2024
6. Aaron Judge, Yankees: $40,000,000. Free agent contract signed December 2022
7. Jacob deGrom, Rangers: $37,000,000. Free agent contract signed December 2022
8. Blake Snell, Dodgers: $36,400,000. Free agent contract signed November 2024. Considering deferrals, the MLBPA calculated the AAV as $31,735,498
t-9. Mike Trout, Angels: $36,000,000. Extension signed March 2019
t-9. Gerrit Cole, Yankees: $36,000,000. Free agent contract signed December 2019
11. Carlos Correa, Twins: $35,100,000. Free agent contract signed March 2022
t-12. Stephen Strasburg, Nationals: $35,000,000. Free agent contract signed December 2019
t-12. Anthony Rendon, Angels: $35,000,000. Free agent contract signed December 2019
14. Zack Greinke, Diamondbacks: $34,416,667. Free agent contract signed December 2015
15. Francisco Lindor, Mets: $34.1MM. Extension signed March 2021
16. Trevor Bauer, Dodgers: $34,000,000. Free agent contract signed February 2021
17. Nolan Arenado, Rockies: $33,428,571. Extension signed February 2019
18. Carlos Correa, Twins: $33,333,333.33. Free agent contract signed January 2023
19. Justin Verlander, Astros: $33,000,000. Extension signed March 2019
20. Corey Seager, Rangers: $32,500,000. Free agent contract signed November 2021
21. Rafael Devers, Red Sox: $31,350,000. Extension signed January 2023
t-22. Blake Snell, Giants: $31,000,000. Free agent contract signed March 2024. Considering deferrals, the MLBPA calculated the AAV as $29,698,347
t-22. Miguel Cabrera, Tigers: $31,000,000. Extension signed March 2014
t-22. David Price, Red Sox: $31,000,000. Free agent contract signed December 2015
t-22. Clayton Kershaw, Dodgers: $31,000,000. Extension signed November 2018
26. Clayton Kershaw, Dodgers: $30,714,286. Extension signed January 2014
27. Mookie Betts, Dodgers: $30,416,667. Extension signed July 2020
28. Jacob deGrom, Mets: $30,125,000. Extension signed March 2019
t-29. Manny Machado, Padres: $30,000,000. Free agent contract signed February 2019
t-29. Max Scherzer, Nationals: $30,000,000. Free agent contract signed January 2015. Counted as $28,689,376 for purposes of luxury tax.
Stephen Strasburg got overpaid…
Disagree. He was a huge part of their first WS title. He deserved it. It’s unfortunate that he’s injured.
you dont give out contracts based only on past performance and not future
Darkside I would usually agree with that except it was the team he’s been playing for (that makes some difference to me) and the whole first ever WS for the Nats.
Correct, AND they also knew they were likely going to lose Rendon as well.
They were almost FORCED to resign Strasburg after losing Harper, and likely losing Rendon. Their fan base would have likely burned down their stadium if they let Strasburg walk as well!!!
Not seriously, but they would have raised immortal you know what, and especially coming off a WS where Strasburg carried that team on his back. The Nationals really didn’t have much of a choice…
Can you predict the future?
as much as i agree with u, i still think it was a mistake for Nationals to sign Stratsburg( from competitive view) They had two very good pitchers without Stratsburg while they didn;t have a replacement for Rendon
This list is kind of bogus in a way. Thanks to all his opt-outs Trevor Bauer should really be at the top. There is no way Bauer stays for the third year of that contract at $17 million. He has basically said he looks at it as a 2-year deal. The way the Bauer contract will eventually unfold it’s going to be a 2-year $85 million deal. That’s an AAV of $42.5 million a year. That puts Bauer’s actual AAV at least $6.5 million above anybody on this list, including both Garret Cole and Mike Trout.
Exactly. List is completely inaccurate. AAV cannot include option years whether they are Club options or Player Options or Mutual options. b
Bogus list by including Player option years (which is exactly what Bauer’s annual opt-outs are).
Oh, he’ll stay for the 3rd year if either –
* His 2nd year (or both years?) for the Dodgers are below average or disastrous
* He gets injured and needs TJS or some other reconstructive surgery and wants to get paid a cool $17M just to rehab.
Worst case scenarios, but the argument against Bauer duplicating a Cy-like performance is, aside from the playoffs, he pitched against subpar competition.
Bauer could theoretically stay for the 3rd year at $17 million if he’s hurt or terrible but that actually just makes his contract better. That 3rd year should be look at as a player option and not influence the AAV of the first 2 years. It’s basically a 2-year $85 million contract with a $17 million safety net in case his arm basically falls off in the first 2 years. The $17 million option is good for him and bad for the Dodgers because it is all up to Bauer whether he accept it. The fact that Bauer has said he sees this as a 2-year deal alone makes it obvious he will get paid $85 million for 2 years and then opt out.
Bauer could theoretically stay for the 3rd year at $17 million if he’s hurt or terrible but that actually just makes his contract better. That 3rd year should be look at as a player option and not influence the AAV of the first 2 years. It’s basically a 2-year $85 million contract with a $17 million safety net in case his arm basically falls off in the first 2 years. The $17 million option is good for him and bad for the Dodgers because it is all up to Bauer whether he accept it. The fact that Bauer has said he sees this as a 2-year deal alone makes it obvious he will get paid $85 million for 2 years and then opt out..
Bauer shouldnt be on there because he wont get paid. Hes on admin leave.
“You can’t predict baseball Suzyn.” – John Sterling
He us still getting paid.
if any team will take him
Considering Bauer’s new baggage may not play well with other teams’ marketing, and he just had a year off, which may impact his performance, it would not surprise me if he stayed that third year to get farther away from this past years events before becoming a FA. It’ll be a whole different situation if he competes for the Cy Young, but just good isn’t going to get him past this.
Was he on admin leave when he signed the contract that had a top AAV? Nope. He should be on the list.
Look at how many of these contacts have been bad for their team. Trouts been injury prone since he signed. Strasburg, hurt. Rendon, hurt. Lindor, didn’t perform well. Bauer, went to court lol. Miggy and price etc. teams will wise up once they realize how bad these contracts are for their teams long term outlook. I think only 4 players on this list actually went on to help their team win a World Series. (After their contract extensions)
Umm he will if he’s suspended half the year and then doesn’t impress in whatever market will take him since it sure as hell won’t be LA
@Joe says… “RAWGA CLEMENS IS IN GORG STOINBREBNAH’S BAWX!”
Britt, am I missing something because both Scherzer and Verlander signed for $43.3 annually?
Typical Yankee fan injecting themselves into he conversation ther has nothing to do with Yankees.
Of course you make our fanbssee look bad. You’re just as bad as Jomboy and jake
@STL both Trout and Cabrera were highly marketable players who have/had brought in a ton of revenue for their clubs. So the notion that their contracts were bad is simply not true. These mega contracts are not just about onfield production, MLB is a business and the game and its players are are the products. As for Lindor not playing well, he’s been in top 10 of MVP voting 2 of the 3 seasons with the Mets, so again simply not true.
Yes the Rendon contract has been a disaster due to his injuries. Strasburg’s contract has also been a disaster, but had they not paid him it would ve been Rendon they paid. So either way looking back in hindsight neither would ve worked out. Harper wanted out and Soto was not going to sign an early extension. The Nats had to sign one of Stras/Rendon to appease the fan base.
As far as players helping a team win a World Series, yes that is most teams goal(A’s excluded). But they also need players that are marketable to bring in revenue. Again MLB is a business.
And now they’re screwed.
Pretty sure AAV is how mlb values contracts for luxury tax and what not. They’re the ones you should be voicing your gripe to.
They waived him, just like they did Cody Bellinger and Julio Urias.
Both of those players were never waived.
Bellinger agreed to a contract, playing out his last year of arbitration with the Dodgers. He was not offered a new one before free agency started making him unrestricted, with no ties to a draft pick.
Urias was never waived, but was put on administrative leave due to his legal issues.
You do if you want to sink your franchise
@Darkside
I usually agree with most of what you say, but with this one your wrong. 98% of the time if it’s a free agent deal you are definitely paying for past performance. That’s also why a guy like Soto who is getting paid on the basis on being only 26 and he hasn’t hit his physical prime yet to go along with the numbers. If it’s not a Soto or A-Rod you’re definitely going be holding the bag on years 5-10.
Well no one can see the future to predict his injury.
Lindor has performed great in every year of that contract.
metsin4
Long suffering fan here as well. Lindor has played really well with the exception of year one and I could definitely be wrong about that. It’s just Soto’s give us 3-5 great years and 5 to 10 after that he’ll be hitting league plus not a lot something like 105-110 and then 11-15 are wish. But who knows with Soto, he might have a crap Beltran first season(which I can see) and then kill it. Still IMO you’re paying 98% of past performances.
At the time of signing it was the highest AAV of a pitchers contract ever, and it was 7 years. While he was a large part of that team, he was still overpaid. He was coming off a 3.3 ERA season. 2017 he was a really good pitcher, other than that I don’t see a season of his in his 20s that is worth $35m.
If that’s the case then randy arozarena should be getting paid more than 500k but no.
If you don’t know why Randy a isn’t getting paid more than there’s no point in having a conversation with you.
If Cole deserves the annual deal of $36 million a year than Strasburg deserves his deal. They are similar in career stats.
Strasburg 112-59 3.19 WAR 33.3
Cole. 101-55 3.19 WAR 26.0
Um, Cole is 30. Strasburg is 32, and Cole pitched for the Pirates… So there’s that.
Do you really think that Stras will be as or more valuable than Cole during the life of their deals?
So if Mo Rivera pitched for the Pirates, would he be that successful…So there’s that.
Pirates were not horrible with Cole and two years relative.
Strasburg in 6 seasons average 13.8 wins a year. Assuming he retained that level of production, which could be a huge if, that equates to $2.5mm a win. Considering that he is a SP who averages about 25 starts a year and has only broken 200IP a season twice and a sub3.00 era once this seems like a stretch. When he is on he is very good but considering the above I think he is overpaid.
“Overpaid” may be the dumbest term in sports mostly because everyone uses it with such certainty when they really have no idea. Keep throwing it around kiddos, and continue sounding like idiots.
Owners being cheap is the dumbest thing in sports and that isn’t debatable
Calling people “kiddos”… what a bunch of mularkey. And get off my lawn.
no one is overpaid when agents are just swindling dumb GMs
Still can’t believe he got that contract. He was crazy good all of 2019 but he’s pitched a full season like twice
I think part of the reason they gave Strasburg such a massive contract is because of how well it worked out for them last time with Scherzer’s huge deal. Perhaps it made them a little over confident in giving out such a large deal to someone who is a huge injury risk.
i would like to throw this in his contract would be a huge overpay for 29 teams but with wash. i look it at is as backpay for his production when he was on the cheap.
That is a terrible way to run an organization
That’s a bad way to look at it…it’s just a bad contract no matter the team
That’s a good way to never win again.
When had Scherzer shown any injury risk, before that contract?
All new money
No money So old its growing white hair
Strasburg when healthy is dynamic, when healthy he deserves everything they pay him. You could argue that Tatis hasn’t earned the contract he was awarded, but you cant say that about Strasburg
Taros is getting paid based on future potential. Strasburg’s best days are clearly behind him as he enters his age 32 season having had injury concerns. Additionally, Tatis’s contract is very favorable up front as he will make $1mm this year and doesn’t fully impact the Padres for a few years. Not quite the same, not a good comp I think.
I hate to tell you this, but every player gets paid on “future potential”. Even if you’re 35 years old you agree to a contract that pays you for the “future” and the “potential” that you can bring to the team.
Because he’s overrated
And Jacob deGrom got underpaid
Nothing like Verlander’s extension. $66 mill. for two years. One game pitched and then Tommy John.
They’re all overpaid!
All but 1 of these players is severely overpaid lol
If adjusted for inflation, Wayne Garland’s contract with the Indians for 10 years at the advent of free agency bearts Ohtani’s contract by 32%
I am in the middle on this issue of Strasburg being overpaid. Had he been healthy, maybe there would have been more World Series wins, but.. BUT overall he was overpaid if you look at the big picture but since there was only one World Series win – was it was worth it? I am not saying it was or wasn’t. That is for the fans to decide, For me, if the Phillies won one, it was worth it. But two is better than one – so who knows?
He got paid in accordance with the market for his services.
Everyone on this list got overpaid.
Trout is underpaid just like Lebron was for a decade and others. No one would show up without these guys. There is a great article explaining this in Grantland. Old piece
I guess at the end of the day when you’re chilling in your mansion with a nine-figure bank account there isn’t too much difference between $300mil and $250mil
The difference between $250 and $300MM could influence the size of island you buy.
Welcome to why opt outs are now a thing
Contracts are just dk measuring contests
Capitalism
If you’re the type of guy who does the extent of charity work that LeBron and Trout do, it is $50 million less you have to worry about raising.
How is Trout underpaid?? He’s devoid of personality and hides on a rarely watched west coast team. How many titles has he helped bring to the Angels? Ooh he brings fans to the park, how many more would come out if that team was actually good? Trout is an accomplice to what amounts to stealing from Angel’s fans.
If he were on the Yanks/Mets/Phils/Dodgers/Red Sox he would be the exact opposite of what you say.
Ridiculous comment!
The fans are overcharged. Players are well compensated, not underpaid.
LeBron was overpaid to play half the amount of games.
Franchise you will never see on this list? White Sox. They still haven’t signed anyone to a contract worth more than $100 million over duration of the deal.
That will be changing quickly with the young squad they have!
nothing is worse than Chris Davis $23,000,000
CONTRACT:7 yr(s) / $161,000,000
That one big Ryan Howard contract wasn’t all that great either.
It was made worse by his torn achilles. At the time it was a good deal. How did they know he would suffer a career shortening injury?
You don’t know a guy is getting a career shortening injury but that’s why you don’t give guys long term contracts.
yea sorry but you can’t argue in favor of the Stras contract but not the Howard. They were both a result of flying high on emotions and recent success and fan favorites and big spenders/markets…not so much on prudent baseball decisions
A contract is simply the agreed upon level of risk a team is willing to take. The reason the Braves Ozzie Albies contract is so “unfair” is because he had a non-contact elbow fracture while in the minors and the Braves were concerned about that. He missed almost all of the second half off ‘22 with a non-contact foot fracture.
The risk to the team is the player under performing the contract for whatever reason including baseball being weird and random and the risk to the player is obviously the opposite of the risk the team is taking.
Strasburg was a free agent. Howard was still under contract. Not exactly apples-yo-apples.
“It was made worse by his torn achilles. At the time it was a good deal.”
There were plenty of people at the time who thought it was a horrible deal (myself included). He was already declining and was the worst fielder in baseball for several years running (apologies to Adam Dunn). Amaro got raked over the coals for that deal. Here’s a couple of fun blasts from the past here at MLBTR. The article about the signing and one with the reactions. Nice walk down memory lane:
mlbtraderumors.com/2010/04/ryan-howard-close-to-fi…
mlbtraderumors.com/2010/04/ryan-howard-extension-r…
Orioles still owe Davis 74 million (42 million deferred). He’s owed 17 mil this year and the rest of their salary outside of arb players is roughly 14 mil.
Instead of giving away bundy and gausman- orioles could have kept them. Would have made more sense than any other move they have made in past several years.
Os give reds pirates and Miami a good run at second worse ran team in baseball. Rockies are clearly the worst and it’s not even close
This comment aged well for you! Glad we got Bradish for Bundy in that giveaway!
Rendon is trying.
Crazy that Clemons made the list considering the average contract sizes in ’07!
He was 45 too when he signed. It was prorated to $18.7M as he didn’t play a full season and the Yankees had to pay an additional $7M+ in luxury tax penalties. That crazy Ol’ George!
Surprisingly Stanton is NOT on the list.
Maybe I’m just too rooted in the NL to understand paying THAT kind of money for a DH
But it was Miami that paid it to begin with!
And that’s why at the time even though 90% of the people much like the Arenado trade said Yankees were fleecing the Marlins when in fact it was the marlins who won the trade and would have won the trade had they not got back any players. Any team that gets rid of 200 mil of payroll commitment wins the trade regardless of return.
That Cabrera deal is still biting the Tigers in the ass
I was JUST gonna say that!! It’d be fun to see an article like this but something like “the top 20 worst overpays”
That would be awesome the problem is it would subjective. This list is factual. No one can argue it.
GTFO that Cabrera deal didn’t do anything to them… the lack of farm and aging roster got the Tigers. You act like his payroll handcuffed the team… it didn’t.
For all the talk of Harper being overpaid, I love how his name is absent from this list.
at the time when him and manny signed you could argue that they were overpays but i bet you when it’s all said in done they will be the avg to low end for a player of there caliber. i remember when people were screaming that matt holiday was an overpay and 1/2 way through it was an underpay
He took a longer term contract at the expense of lower AAV to squeeze out the last $30 million or so. He probably could have signed a contract closer to Manny Machado’s.
Being overpaid is not just looking at AAV. What if Harper said, okay pay me $400mm but you can spread it over 20 years. Is that a bargain contract even though it’s only $20mm AAV? It’s silly to just look at AAV. Term and AAV need to be considered, to arrive at total dollars committed.
i was going on trends on how players get paid 10+ years ago when matt reuped with the birds at the time when he put ink on paper the deal was a “stupid overpay” (at the time i thought it was a bad move and i’m still eating crow over that deal). if trends keep going like they are and no real cap is going to be in place manny and harpers deals might end up looking like value deals. whitey said best sign them now or pay them more in the end
The Phillies got an excellent deal with Harper. Even in its last, lingering tears it will look like a good deal.
Interesting list. Top tier players, Some delivered at a high level, others not so much. Tim, if I’l not mistaken, Clemens signed after the season began and was paid a prorated amount of the $28M
That is true, so it does kind of deserve an asterisk.
It is astounding that Clemens was paid that much so early on, comparatively, and even with the ever-increasing contract totals, he’s still on this list nearly fifteen years later! 2007 – wow, for perspective Trout (and probably several others on this list) were still in high school…
Are Club option years included in AAV? I wouldn’t think so because they are not gaurantees. Why then would we include Player option years (annual opt-outs)? It would make no sense to correctly exclude Club options – but then to do the opposite with in Player options and put them in.
Doing so misrepresents the player’s true earnings – and the earnings potential for years being included. Guaranteed years are the only years that belong in AAV. – no Club or Player option years.
Love the site and resources as always, just my 2 cents.
Joe
How about a list of top position and pitcher aav for each team? The payroll disparities would be fascinating and depressing.
I’d much rather pay Mike Trout 36 million per year than Gerrit Cole. Not saying it was an awful deal for NY, but it’s pretty clear they drastically overpaid and the Angels probably underpaid by a little. Trout is making 36 million a year, which is a steal in ages 28-34, the first half of the deal. But at age 35 and 36, it’s likely going to be uncomfortable. For ages 37-38, you just have to hope Trout can stay on the field. But for Cole, that deal just isn’t going to age well.
I couldn’t believe the Yankees gave Cole the money they did, but they seemingly had their minds made up that they were going to get him no matter what. And yes, I would much rather have Trout on his deal than Cole on his.
You said it yourself that Trout is underpaid as he was never a free agent and Cole wanted top dollars. Those are two different circumstances. Would you feel differently if Trout was earning $42M/yr.?
Bauer, Kershaw, Betts, & Price.
Dodgers are well represented at the top.
as much as i hate kershaw (my hate for him is that he doesn’t pitch for my redbirds lol) name a pitcher that has been better than him in 10+ years. dude is a stud and deserves every penny he gets.
One of those Kershaw contracts he opted out from. They should be looked at as one. Price’s contract is being partially paid by the Red Sox and expires in 2022. Kershaw’s after 2021. Bauer’s is an extremely short term deal with most likely only $85mm in total. Betts is really the only mega Dodger contract and he’s probably one of the most deserving out of all of the ones listed here.
As a fan, I don’t like the idea of dodgers signing players to 12 year contracts.
Betts and Corey Seager are 2, I can live with.
Padres locking in Tatis Jr at 24 mill a year at 21 looks like a bargain now.
AAV is only going to go up in the next 10 years. Someone’s going to break 40 million within the next 5 years.
Listing AAV on Tatis’s contract is probably the most hilarious way to talk about that deal
@lurk Considering that’s literally the topic of the article and a critical component of how teams build out their rosters, no it’s not.
Got that one right. First Scherzer and Verlander. Then Ohtani.
And now Soto broke $50mm AAV.
To me AAV matters more than total dollar numbers. It’s why I don’t consider guys like Harper and Tatis overpaid. I think they can easily put up 8-9 years worth their AAV. The final years may look ugly, but at that point the contracts will have already paid for themselves.
tatis has played basically one season having played 600 pa’s.
I’d disagree that AAV is necessarily more important. Maybe for smaller market teams because they won’t ever be able to pay a high AAV contract. But for bigger market teams it’s an absolute way to de-risk the risk of giving out a large fat $300mm plus type of contracts. Would you rather give Bauer a 2 year $85 million or something like 8+ years and $240+ million? Unless the player is more of a sure thing like a Betts I’d be hesitant to give out such long-term contracts. Player of course has to agree to it and most players are risk averse too, preferring term over AAV. But if you can find the player that is willing to go higher AAV at the expense of term it can be a valuable tool.
That assumes that Tatis plays that long and performs at that level for a while. Sure, there may be a good reason to believe that but baseball can be unpredictable. Many players that jumped out of the gates but faded badly over the years and/or had injury issues de-rail them. The term risk is high, even with a Tatis. Also, as others have pointed out, in the early years he may be glowing to get paid much higher than without a contract, but what happens in the middle years when he’s “grossly underpaid” in relative comparison. That is a potential land mine.
Tatis got a 10 year free agent contract 4 years before he was a free agent, and before he took 600 ABs. That’s why he’s overpaid
Not a Cub on the list. Cheapskates!
I’m really interested in some of the older contracts, Miggy for instance, and what they are valued at currently based on inflation alone.
You can use a simple inflation calculator and also factor in any deferrals with or without interest.
Silly question maybe, but what can you buy with 325 million that you cant you buy with 275 million?
$50 million worth of stuff.
The same question could be asked of owners, but add another zero.
lol this article kind of indirectly trolls Trevor Bauer. Or maybe it was intentional? : )
It’s based on indisputable facts. How does it troll Bauer whom the Dodgers had voluntarily issued him a contract?
Some people just want to play victim
It doesn’t really do a good job of it since the numbers in the article are not accurate. If Club options are not included in AAV (because they are not guaranteed years) then annual Player options (ie Opt outs every year) cannot be either.
It makes no sense to calculate it the way the Dierkes does. Bauer’s AAV could be reported as either 38M or 40M (depending on whether you include the 2M opt-out option). Reporting it by including option years is just plain inaccurate.
No it’s not. You keep claiming this but you’re wrong.
Until Bauer opts out after year 1 or year 2, he has a 3 year contract. If he gets TJS mid year of year 2, he isn’t opting out. Stop pretending you can predict the future, then complain that others don’t use your crystal ball
And….he didn’t opt out.
Although not for the reasons we expected.
I just don’t understand why a player would sign for 330 million over 13 years if he can get 300 million over ten years. The extra 3 years are only for 10 million each. Should have been 390 million over 13 years. But I remember Greg Maddux turning down a One year 16 million contract for a two year 16 million contract.
Bc $330 is more than $300. Players want to play for as long as they can. Teams agree to add the extra years to lower Average Annual Value for payroll purposes. Baseball, unlike other sports, doesn’t really negotiate for buyouts for multiple years of a contract so players know they will still have a job when it’s obvious they should be retired.
1. ego
2. You take the most money when you are offered it. No guarantee someone wants to give Machado another 30M when his deal is done
3. See #1
Thanks for sharing.
garret cole salary 36 million entire pirates payroll just over 40 million something wrong here
That’s why Cole left the Pirates!
He was originally drafted by the Yankees in 2008, Went to College, then drafted by the Pirates in 2011. He joined the Astro in between Pirates and Yankees each time going to the highest bidder. The Pirates did not want to pay him that much. They did extend Bryan Reynolds for $106M+, so that is a step in the right direction
Sorry, forgot to mention the Pirates traded Cole to the Astros in January, prior to the 2018 season.
Is this whole “keep moving certain articles to the top of the feed” going to be happening more and more? Not a fan of it
Agreed
Everyone arguing on who deserves the contract and who is overpaid. These guys wave a bat and throw a tiny ball around. Everyone is way overpaid and no one deserves this type of money per year.
It’s supply and demand. You may throw a tiny ball and wave a bat, these players are throwing in the high 90’s, and the others are somehow capable of hitting those pitches. Such a small percentage of people can do that, that’s why they are paid what they are. It’s 100% deserved, market says so.
But I guess to you, Brady just throws a football, LeBron just dribbles a ball, and Chase Elliot just drives a car.
The players make the product and I would like them to get their fair share of the pie, so that it doesn’t all go to the owners and league officials.
How about
lower TV fees
Cheaper ticket prices
The players make way too much
And the fans pay in the end
Player salaries and ticket prices are not well correlated. Ticket prices are based on supply and demand.
$$
The craziest thing here is Clemons making 28 million in 2007, it’s 10-15 years earlier then everyone else on the list, crazy. Is 28 million 14 years ago more then 36 million today?
Oh my god!!! Notice how Bryce Harper isn’t in the top 20, He is not overpaid, each war is worth 7 million and he was worth 4.5 war in 2019 meaning he was worth more than 30 million! Leave that man alone he is a top 30 player in the game and is paid accordingly Bryce Harper is not overrated.
What’s curious is how he held out that offseason for a team just to top the current-record AAV…. then it was broken right after, which typically happens. Either way, I don’t think one can say he’s overpaid.
Overrated depends on circumstances. When he’s spoken of in the same tier as Trout, yes, he is. But, overrated, underrated, and other ambiguous terms are difficult to validate as truth in and of themselves, and without further context.
Also, not a grammar guy, but God gets me.
@philliesfan07 What flawed logic. Tommy Edman had over 7 WAR in 2022, does that mean he was worth 49 million dollars that year? I highly doubt that
LFGMets (Metsin7) #BannedForBeingABaseballExpertAGAIN)
@philliesfan07 isn’t here to answer you. He made HUGE $$$$ betting on Tommy Edman’s surplus value about three years ago and has left the premises!!!
LFG,
Yes, he was.
The only team in MLB to have two three-hundred-million dollar players on their payroll…..
Hopefully he stays healthy and the Padres can look back at this as an incredibly wise investment. Did I also read he owes $30M to investors already?
Angels Redon + Trout Contract is more I think, although Redon is only on a 245 million deal. As for Harper, Trout has an AAV of 12 more million compared to Harper, so I would say that isn’t quite a fair comparison for how much those players are getting paid. He is not mike trout but has the highest ceiling in the MLB so look out for Harper on a good year
ATTA BOY HARPER!!
How is this sports/baseball news? This is the left elite looking out for the one’s they like. I was at spring training and SAW Pete Rose handing a large wad of cash to a HUGH Italian guy, nobody blinked an eye – then a story broke about the gay umpire he tried to beat up during his playing days, end of Pete Rose. STOP pumping guys that could barely carry Mickey Mantle’s bat because they are your guys. NONE of these baseball players should be making more than $200K in our new socialist society.
Stanton is 5x stronger than Mantle, not a better player, but sure could swing his bat keep in mind inflation exists, buddy.
OH, look, “comments closed” on the Seattle story: HOW DARE HIM TELL THE TRUTH, welcome to socialism.
I’m pretty sure the close comments on those sorts of things to avoid controversial conversations going on in the comments.
Where’s A-roid ?
Yes what Kevin Maher said may have been true. But much of what he said was offensive and/or inappropriate. His job as one of the main representatives of the Mariners brand was basically to market the company. If there were a ten commandments for his job, near the top would be “Thou shall not make comments that can be offensive, demeaning, or inappropriate”. Do you not get that?
He failed to uphold to the standards of his position and therefore lost his job. That’s capitalism. Someone can do a better job than him so he’s gone. On to the better means of production. Bad socialism would be if you get to keep your job regardless of your performance.
It’s also pretty ignorant to decry “socialism” and not understand what it is – and that some socialism is good (ie public roads, police/law enforcement, courts, etc) while other parts are bad (ie seniority based employment instead of performance based employment).
Pretty sure he means the political socialism that has resulted in tens of millions of deaths throughout history, and it’s related fundamental ideologies.
Nonetheless, baseball is why we are here, so let’s talk about baseball. Tatis Jr. isn’t Mantle, of course. This is the inherent problem with media making every player with potential out to be the next generational player. Tatis Jr. does have incredible potential, but he is a one-year player. All-time great he is not.
So the two major league teams who reward cheaters are the yankees and the Astros. Not surprising that foreign substance man with team garbage can landed the whopper.
Yeah, nice cherry picking…. great unsubstantiated statement. Astros… yep, Yankees? Where more than any other team? Go
Ah. Good times, February. Angry old man. Yup.
Wow, the Angels pay a lot to not make the playoffs….
When your name appears twice on this list, you know you did good
A year old thread resurfaces, thanks to Correa.
1968. YAZ. $100,000. I don’t think he was the first one though.
Koufax and Drysdale were. 1966. They held out of Spring Training. First ever holdout. No free agency so they had to threaten to quit baseball. They were asking for a 3 year, $1MM contract that they would split down the middle. So, $167K a year for each of them for 3 years. Drysdale had a starring role in a tv show lined up. They were really ready to quit baseball over it! Luckily the Dodgers ended up offering enough to convince them to stay. Koufax ended up getting $120K and Drysdale $105K.
Worth a Google. Fascinating stuff.
Childish and greedy
Between greedy owners and as a result, greedy players, the average shmuck can’t afford to take a family to a game.
For all the talk of the Phillies and stupid money, their “mega” aren’t high AAV and have worked out so far. Their issue as always is development.
Yeah but that phrase will -forever- be brought up. Snowball, Santa, 55yrs ago this month, how often is that weakly mentioned?
Even though time has proven your take correct, there will always be some donut spouting garbage.
Back to my eggnog….
We’ll be seeing Judge on that list soon as well. Can’t really blame players for the high numbers. Owners and teams pay it. Arod started all these astronomical numbers so blame him and Boras. Just another reason to hate Arod lol!! I mean is any player worth 35,000,000 a year for what they do on the field?? Come on now
I find 35 million a disgusting number to pay someone while most of the world can’t afford food and shelter
How about the billionaire owners making the amount of money they make?
Who were the Angels bidding against on the Rendon contract?
The Halos and the Anaheim Angels
I remember 1989 when Kirby Puckett signed a three-year $9 million contract and was the highest paid player for, like, a week.
Poor Max Scherzer, only appearing twice on the list.
How come players whine and moan if they feel underpaid, but if they make 25, 30, 35 million a year and plain suck why don’t they apologize and donate the money to charity.
Also it’s hard for me to feel connected to players who have made over 100 million dollars to play a game
How connected do you feel to owners who have made billions of dollars? How much do you expect them to donate to charity when their teams don’t win the World Series?
That is a different topic, I don’t care for the owners but that doesn’t mean I have to be screwed by the players greed.
I dont also like paying a cable TV sports network bill.
I am calling out all guilty parties, no one is getting a pass from me.
Greed is good.
I cost as much money as possible just like the players. You should try it instead of working for minimum wage or give your employer a discount then you won’t have to complain about the $20 a month or whatever they charge.
The mystery of Scherzer getting more than deGrom and Kershaw is one of life’s greatest mysteries. I guess hometown discount really matters to some people.
Tim bored at home after Christmas, ready to recoup some of those funds!
They missed Manny Machado’s 350/11 deal.
Correct, though think it was 5/$170m new money so $34m for this list.
I was thinking of the Lindor deal today. He is very good but if I were a NY team offering my biggest deal ever I’d prefer a more dangerous offensive threat who didn’t get so much of their value from skills like baserunning and defense that could fade over time. I’d probably prefer they weren’t having jeweled Gucci gloves made (or whatever it was) but I could live with it.
Hitting skill declines over time, too.
Many great hitters are still hitting great at age 37-40 even if only playing part time. Most speedsters stop stealing bases, for instance, pretty early on. All I’m saying is if you could get 5-6 WAR purely hitting it’s less likely to decline than a person who needs defense, baserunning, and hitting to get there. His OPS doesn’t leave enough room for decline for a deal of that length.
This didn’t age too well, first Soto contract totally blew his out the water and makes Lindor contract even that much better. Lindor has been worth approximately 182.7MM while the Mets have only paid him 124.6MM so far. Seems he should easily be worth the 360MM Mets will have paid him over the lifetime.
Glad Mookie is ahead of Altuve but it’s a shame the Dodgers had to eat so much of David Price’s contract to get him.
Like Price really weakened the Dodgers!
Interesting that 5 guys have more than one contract on list.
Nats had Stasburg and Rendon both hitting FA at same time and coming off good seasons. They picked Stasburg and let Rendon go. Turns out the injury bug made both a poor choice.
Would be cool if you linked the articles
I can’t seem to find the A’s on this list anywhere! Maybe the list needs to go Lower in AAV or further back in time, like way lower in both! Maybe going to Las Vegas will change things or the owner loses the team in a poker game.
It’s ridiculous that a big city team like the White Sox have the 2nd lowest contract, and only greater than Oakland’s and not by much. Thank you ‘Grinch’ Jerry Reinsdorf. Please sell the team.
Ohtani gets the Bobby Bonilla deal. In LA, there will be an Ohtani Day. Free Bobblehead and $7 for 20 beers on Ohtani Day. Mets can’t have all the glory
Why is there no outrage that Ohtani’s contract has an AAV of $43,783,056.30 yet they are being taxed on $46 mil?
I mean, can’t we all agree by now that $700 million number is all just marketing?
11 of these were from the Dodgers, Mets and Yankees! No surprises….
IMO, doesn’t make sense using the headline AAV for Ohtani – use the Luxury Tax AAV instead. Since that’s a more realistic number.
You must have missed all the Whjte Sox on the list.
Of the top 22, only one is more than 5 years old (Grienke in 2015).
If that rate keeps up, who will be the top 20 AAV players in 2030? Will Ohtani and Soto be down at nos. 23-25?
So Kyle Tucker gets 9/385 or 10/420 then? A little more AAV than Judge at a similar age but a couple of calendar years later, but not as much AAV as prime Ohtani or Soto?
About half of the Top 20 seem like they were bad deals for the team…
Considering they get to systematically underpay players for 6-7 years, a 50% success rate seems reasonable.
Merry Christmas and Happy Hanukkah to the MLBTR staff!
Not sure why some amounts include NPV footnotes for deferrals while others don’t?
Devers is only $29,152,686
Mookie is only $25,554,824
Would love to see Arte show the cajones to cut Rendon.
Shopping at the top of the market, what’s notable includes the fact that many of these highest-paid players were productive after they signed. It’s not a record of unadulterated disaster
If Soto is the “true AAV record” why isn’t he #1? Asking for a friend.
Funny that Stasburg and Rendon tie for 12th. They also tie for disastrous contracts.
The spread between top salaries and MLB minimum is getting almost as bad as CEO to worker bees. I don’t have a good answer in either case.
The thing is that nobody turns on the TV or goes to the stadium to watch Austin Hedges or Tim Hill. A floor and cap would help a little, but the MLBPA will never allow that.
There is a floor—40x the major league minimum. The problem is the floor is too low. The Union would be thrilled to raise it. Management is the roadblock to giving raises to the bottom of the depth chart.
The small market teams are not going to approve an inflationary floor (because then the 1-2 WAR veterans are going to expect more as well) without a corresponding deflationary ceiling. Which the MLBPA won’t accept.
Right, the owners are the obstacle to a floor. The Union is an obstacle to a ceiling.
Need to swap #1 & #2. Gotta use the MLB/MLBPA present value estimates not the Monopoly money “total” numbers. Those are for PR purposes only.
I mean, they’re real numbers, it’s how much the teams are paying. But yes, from a fan perspective only the present-value numbers are really relevant
Brings back memories. I remember listening to a KMOX radio Saint Louis Sports Open Line show one evening during the late 1970s, and the discussion was about who was going to be the first player to be paid $1 million per year, Dave Parker or Cesar Cedeno?
Now do it by deserved salary…
MLBTR should rework the list to take into regard the time value of money. For instance, what would Babe Ruth’s AAV in 2025 dollars for his $80,000 salary around 1930 be today ?. What would Mantle’s $100,000 in early ’60s be today ? Etc, etc, etc.
According to Google, $80000 in 1930 is $1,511,340 today.