Bryce Harper, Manny Machado, and the 10 biggest contracts ever
Now that Bryce Harper and Manny Machado have found new homes, MLB is even more cluttered with huge mega-contracts. Let’s look at them.
Three. That’s the number of players who signed deals worth at least $250 million during the last eight days.
Two. That’s the number of players who had ever signed such deals entering this year.
A player signing a deal worth more than $200 million has been a pretty rare sight, yet we had three recently in the form of Bryce Harper, Manny Machado, and Nolan Arenado. As a result, it’s time to take a look back at some of the biggest baseball contracts ever.
10: Joey Votto. Cincinnati Reds. $225,000,000
On April 2nd, The Reds signed Joey Votto to an insane extension. The then 28-year-old Votto still had two years left on his contract but the Reds wanted to make sure that they kept their star first baseman for years to come.
They agreed to a 10-year extension worth $225,000,000. Once his two remaining years were completed, his new contract was to last from 2014 until 2023. The extension included an option for 2024. As a result, once the extension was agreed on, Votto had up to 13 years left.
So far the extension has worked very well for the Reds. Votto missed more than half of his first season but averaged 155 games each of the next four. He’s also hit more than .300 three times and combined for more than 100 home runs during the first half of the contract.
He still has five years left on his contract, with each being worth $25,000,000.
#9: Albert Pujols. Los Angeles Angels. #240,000,000
On December 8th, 2011, Albert Pujols left the Cardinals to start his new career with the Angels.
After having a monster career with more than 400 home runs, 2,000 hits, 3 MVP’s, and 2 world series rings, the Angels locked up Pujols for 10 years on a $240,000,000 deal.
Since then, Pujols began his steady decline but was still able to contribute. He has since hit both the 3,000 hit and 600 home run plateaus. He’s never been able to replicate his monster Cardinals seasons but has managed to be very consistent with a great deal of power.
He still has three years left on his deal and is owed nearly $90 million.
#8 Robinson Cano. Seattle Mariners. $240,000,000
After proving himself with the Yankees, the Mariners signed Robinson Cano to a $240,000,000 deal over 10 years on December 6th, 2013. It wasn’t as much as the $300,000,000 that Cano wanted but it was still a lot.
His tenure with the Mariners had its ups and downs but was overall really good. During his five seasons with the Mariners, he’s hit a little more than 100 home runs while sporting a .296 batting average.
Halfway through his contract, on December 1st, 2018, he was traded to the Mets. He has five years left and is owed $24 million per year.
#7: Miguel Cabrera. Detroit Tigers. $248,000,000
Miguel Cabrera spent five seasons tearing up the league with the Marlins. Then he went to the Tigers and did the same for six more seasons.
Then, with two seasons left, they agreed to an extension worth $248,000,000 over eight years on March 27th, 2014. The extension begins with the 2016 season and included options for the 2024 and 2025 seasons.
Cabrera is only three years in and has already been starting to feel the wrath of old-age as he only played in a combined 157 games during the last two seasons. However, he has hit for a respectable .288 during the first three seasons.
He has five years left, all worth at least $30,000,000 per year and will bring him into his 40’s before the options.
#6: Alex Rodriguez. Texas Rangers. $252,000,000
Alex Rodriguez was the first player to ever get a contract worth $250,000,000. On December 11th, 2000, the Rangers signed him to a 10-year deal worth $252,000,000.
Forget $250,000,000, he was the first to sign a $200,000,000 deal period. Before this contract was signed, the biggest contract in baseball history belonged to Manny Ramirez which was just $160 million. That contract was made just the day before A-Rod’s one.
He only completed seven years of that contract with the Rangers and Yankees before signing a new one. During that seven-year period, he hit .304 with more than 300 home runs and 1,000 hits.
#5: Nolan Arenado. Colorado Rockies. $260,000,000
First Nolan Arenado avoided arbitration with a $26,000,000 for the 2019 season. Then the Rockies turned around and said we don’t want to wait a year for you to hit free agency and they gave him a crazy extension.
On February 26th, 2018, the Rockies extension for Arenado was worth $260,000,000 over eight seasons with an opt-out following the 2021 season.
AAV-wise, it’s the largest deal ever for a position player as its worth $32,500,000 per year. It was a well-deserved extension for Arenado who’s been averaging nearly 40 home runs and over 100 RBI’s a year. He will only be 30 when he has the option to opt-out.
#4: Alex Rodriguez. New York Yankees. $275,000,000.
Rodriguez failed to complete his old contract because he signed a new one and this one was even better. After a season in which he hit 54 home runs and drove in 156, he agreed to a 10-year deal worth $275,000,000 on December 13th, 2007.
He only played for eight years due to a number of reasons but tacked on an extra 800+ hits and 150+ home runs. During the duration of his second mega-contract, he managed to finish his career with more than 3,100 hits and a whopping 696 home runs.
#3: Manny Machado. San Diego Padres. $300 million
For a week, Manny Machado was the sole owner of a $300,000,000 free agency contract. On February 21st, the Padres signed him to a whopping $300,000,000 deal over 10 years.
It was a fitting deal for the superstar who was never short on power, contact, or consistency. During each of his last four seasons, he’s hit at least 30 home runs and played in the maximum 162 games twice since 2015. He’s only missed a total of 11 games during the last four years.
Machado is going to have a lot to prove during his tenure with the Padres.
#2: Giancarlo Stanton. Miami Marlins. $325,000,000
On November 17th, 2014, the Marlins signed Giancarlo Stanton to a crazy extension that was supposed to keep him in Florida forever. Stanton was only 24 when he agreed to a 13-year extension worth $325,000,000.
So far the contract is looking like it’s been well worth it. He’s already passed 300 home runs and never had a season with fewer than 20 during his nine years. This includes his 59 home run campaign in 2017 before he was traded to the Yankees.
Stanton still has nine years left on this contract and has an option for 2028 but can also opt-out following the 2020 season at the age of 30.
#1: Bryce Harper. Philadelphia Phillies. $330,000,000
It’s been a crazy road for Bryce Harper but he finally truly hit it big with his current mega deal. He signed with the Phillies on February 28th, 2019 for $330,000,000 over 13 years.
The deal does not include any opt-outs meaning that he won’t be able to try for a larger contract later on, which is what some rumors were leading to.
Next. Bryce Harper signs 13-year deal with Philadelphia Phillies. dark
It’s a well-deserved deal for Harper because he definitely has legit power. He’s averaged more than 25 home runs per season and has the potential for 40 or more. He’s also young enough to do plenty of damage for years to come.