Menu
AFC East
AFC North
AFC South
AFC West
NFC East
NFC North
NFC South
NFC West
Southeast
Atlantic
Central
Southwest
Northwest
Pacific
AL West
AL East
AL Central
NL West
NL East
NL Central
Atlantic
Metropolitan
Pacific
Central
Eastern
Western
Eastern
Western
Carlos Correa's newly minted $350,000,000 contract from the San Francisco Giants further brings into focus just how superstar contracts in MLB are going to continue to work - despite sharp increases in tax thresholds in the latest CBA. The 28-year old signed a 13 year contract that runs through his age 40 season, tying him with Bryce Harper & Giancarlo Stanton for the 2nd longest contracts in MLB history. Fernando Tatis, Jr.'s 14 year, $340M deal with the Padres remains the longest ever. We'll focus briefly on the twenty one MLB contracts of 10 years or more, with additional thoughts on the five 9-year contracts as well.
The Mike Trout Mountain
Despite a huge run of blockbuster contracts over the past 2 years, nobody has even approached the apex that is Mike Trout's money. Trout's $426.5M extension back in 2019 is still $61.5M more than any other contract. In fact, across the 4 major American sports, only Patrick Mahomes' $450M deal in Kansas City carries a higher total value than Trout (though the latter is fully guaranteed).
Positionally Speaking
11 of the 21 10+ year contracts belong to shortstops - 12 if you include Manny Machado. 5 of these deals belong(ed) to outfielders, 2 are 1st basemen, 2 are 3rd basemen, and Robinson Cano remains the only 2nd baseman of this elite list. Is the shortstop still as valuable as it was a decade ago? Will the unviersal DH start to make these types of contracts available to more positions?
The Twilight Years
MLB has seen 4 9+ year contracts this free agent season, totaling $1.29B. Three of those deals (Correa, Turner, Bogaerts) carry through the player's age 40 season. Aaron Judge's deal runs through his age 39 season. This is a departure from a recent run that carried end years at or around the age 37 season, as the Cano/Pujols/Cabrera deals really brought front offices across the league back down to earth. So why the sudden change of philsophy? Is it that teams are willing to take a chance on an extra $25M+ salary or two, versus having to deal with a potential luxury tax penalty scenario if the contract were shorter? Is it that players still feel like this is their one and only time to strike financially in this sport, and getting to age 40 is the ideal trophy?
Champion Pedigree
It's a long season, and a 26+ man roster, but generally speaking superstars in MLB get to the finish line at least once in their career. But does it happen more regularly before or after their big pay day? As with everything in sports, the results vary - but with this dataset specifically, a few notable points can be pulled out. Of the 26 contracts we're referencing here (9+ year deals), 9 (36%) of the players NEVER went to a World Series, 4 more went, but never won, and the remaining 13 (half) have at least one championship under their belt. Of those 13 World Series winners, only 4 won a World Series while playing on their big contract (Betts, Harper, A-Rod, Jeter x3). A large majority of players here were paid after winning a championship - and then never did it again.
All-Time 10+ Year MLB Contracts
PLAYER | POSITION | TEAM(S) | SIGN YEAR | SIGN AGE | END YEAR | END AGE | CONTRACT TERMS | AVG. SALARY | NOTES | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Mike Trout | OF | LAA | 2019 | 27 | 2030 | 38 | 12 | $426,500,000 | $35,541,667 | Remains the largest contract by $66.5M |
Mookie Betts | OF | LAD | 2021 | 27 | 2032 | 39 | 12 | $365,000,000 | $30,416,667 | Deferred payments until 2044 |
Carlos Correa | SS | SF | 2023 | 28 | 2035 | 40 | 13 | $350,000,000 | $26,923,077 | Largest SS contract in history |
Francisco Lindor | SS | NYM | 2022 | 27 | 2031 | 37 | 10 | $341,000,000 | $34,100,000 | $9M less than Correa, 3 years younger at end |
Fernando Tatis Jr. | SS | SD | 2021 | 22 | 2034 | 35 | 14 | $340,000,000 | $24,285,714 | $10M less than Correa, 5 years younger at end |
Bryce Harper | OF | PHI | 2019 | 26 | 2031 | 38 | 13 | $330,000,000 | $25,384,615 | Didn't get to age 40, barely exceeded $25M per |
Giancarlo Stanton | OF | MIA/NYY | 2015 | 25 | 2027 | 37 | 13 | $325,000,000 | $25,000,000 | Age 38 club option available |
Corey Seager | SS | TEX | 2022 | 27 | 2031 | 37 | 10 | $325,000,000 | $32,500,000 | Could be a big winner for both sides |
Trea Turner | SS | PHI | 2023 | 29 | 2033 | 40 | 11 | $300,000,000 | $27,272,727 | $50M less than Correa despite being 1 yr older |
Manny Machado | 3B | SD | 2019 | 26 | 2028 | 35 | 10 | $300,000,000 | $30,000,000 | Can opt-out for age 31 season |
Xander Bogaerts | SS | SD | 2023 | 30 | 2033 | 40 | 11 | $280,000,000 | $25,454,545 | Combined $340M w/ previous BOS deal |
Alex Rodriguez | SS | NYY | 2008 | 32 | 2017 | 42 | 10 | $275,000,000 | $27,500,000 | Released with 1 1/2 years left |
Alex Rodriguez | SS | TEX/NYY | 2001 | 25 | 2010 | 35 | 10 | $252,000,000 | $25,200,000 | Opted-out at age 32 |
Albert Pujols | 1B | STL/LAA | 2012 | 31 | 2021 | 41 | 10 | $240,000,000 | $24,000,000 | Signed 2 1 year deals after |
Robinson Cano | 2B | SEA/NYM | 2014 | 31 | 2023 | 40 | 10 | $240,000,000 | $24,000,000 | Released with 1 1/2 years left |
Joey Votto | 1B | CIN | 2014 | 28 | 2024 | 39 | 10 | $225,000,000 | $22,500,000 | Age 40 club option available |
Austin Riley | 3B | ATL | 2023 | 25 | 2032 | 35 | 10 | $212,000,000 | $21,200,000 | Age 36 club option available |
Julio Rodriguez | OF | SEA | 2023 | 21 | 2034 | 33 | 12 | $209,300,000 | $17,441,667 | Age 29 conditional option |
Derek Jeter | SS | NYY | 2001 | 26 | 2010 | 36 | 10 | $189,000,000 | $18,900,000 | Signed a 3 year & 1 year deal after |
Wander Franco | SS | TB | 2022 | 20 | 2033 | 31 | 11 | $182,000,000 | $16,545,455 | Age 32 club option available |
Troy Tulowitzki | SS | COL/NYY | 2011 | 26 | 2020 | 36 | 10 | $157,750,000 | $15,775,000 | Retired with 2 1/2 years remaining |
All-Time 9 Year MLB Contracts
PLAYER | POSITION | TEAM(S) | SIGN YEAR | SIGN AGE | END YEAR | END AGE | CONTRACT TERMS | AVG. SALARY | NOTES | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Aaron Judge | OF | NYY | 2023 | 30 | 2031 | 39 | 9 | $360,000,000 | $40,000,000 | Largest position player avg. salary in history |
Gerrit Cole | SP | NYY | 2020 | 29 | 2028 | 37 | 9 | $324,000,000 | $36,000,000 | Can opt-out after 2024 (age 33) |
Prince Fielder | DH | TEX/DET | 2012 | 27 | 2020 | 36 | 9 | $214,000,000 | $23,777,777 | Retired with 4 1/2 years left |
Todd Helton | 1B | COL | 2003 | 29 | 2011 | 37 | 9 | $141,500,000 | $15,722,222 | Signed a 2 year contract after |
Ken Griffey Jr. | OF | CIN/CWS | 2000 | 30 | 2008 | 38 | 9 | $116,500,000 | $12,944,444 | Signed two 1-year contracts after |