Assessing the Longest MLB Contracts in History

Michael Ginnitti
Michael Ginnitti, Managing Editor & NFL/MLB ExpertDecember 14, 2022
© USA TODAY Sports

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

 

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