Philadelphia Phillies get Bryce Harper to commit without opt-outs

By getting Bryce Harper to sign a 13 year contract without an opt-out, the Philadelphia Phillies have secured his commitment to the organization.

Bryce Harper finally signed with the Philadelphia Phillies on Thursday making him the highest paid player in sports history. He is going to be in Philadelphia for 13 seasons and making $330 million, but the most interesting detail in the Harper news was that there are no opt-outs at any time during the contract.

If you look back at the biggest contracts in sports history (all MLB), every contract involved an opt-out or several opt-outs.

Alex Rodriguez opted out of the final three years of his contract with the Texas Rangers, in which he was paid $275 million over the span of ten years.

Giancarlo Stanton signed a 13-year contract extension with the Miami Marlins and then got traded to the New York Yankees.

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Stanton has the opportunity to opt-out of his contract after the 2020 season and has a full no-trade clause.

My point is when a player agrees to a long term contract he wants security through the no-trade clause, which Harper has in his contract with the Philadelphia Phillies. The most important part of a contract for a high paid player is the multiple opt-outs that they have every three to four seasons in case that player’s team are not winning.

Last year Eric Hosmer signed an 8-year deal, worth $144 million with the Padres, and he has an opt-out in his contract after 2022 when the Padres are projected to be in the postseason.

Manny Machado just signed with the Padres as well, but for ten years and $300 million. He has an opt-out available after the 2023 season.

So, as you can see from the recent big deals players want to have an opt-out in the middle of that contract.

But what is very unique for Harper is he is going to sign a 13-year deal. That is way different than an eight-year deal like Hosmer has, and even a ten-year deal like Machado.

His contract is for five more years than Hosmer and three more years than Machado granted he is getting more than double of what Hosmer will be receiving from San Diego.

He is going to a team that will contend next season, so it is not like he is going to the Orioles or Marlins who are not going to win in the next five seasons, but 13 years in one city means he will be finishing his career there.

Nobody can project what a team will look like in 2032 when his contract will be up, but we can project how good they will be in the immediate future.

The Phillies may have attracted Bryce Harper by making a flurry of moves this off-season by acquiring shortstop Jean Segura from the Mariners, and catcher J.T. Realmuto from the Miami Marlins in addition to signing outfielder Andrew McCutchen, reliever David Robertson, and extending starting pitcher Aaron Nola with a 4-year, $45 million extension.

This gave Harper a vision that the Philadelphia Phillies will be a force to be reckoned with for years to come, even if they are in a division that includes teams that have also added top free agents like the Nationals, Mets, and Braves.

Although we have only seen three contracts north of $300 million, it is peculiar to see one like Bryce Harper’s that does not include an opt-out, especially considering the circumstances like his young age.