
Nolan Arenado, Colorado Rockies – $260M (8 years)
#Highest paid baseball player free#
12) with the Texas Rangers in 2001, which had more than doubled the previous record contract (Colorado Rockies 2000 free agent signee Mike Hampton’s deal for eight years, $121 million). Years: 2008-17 Average Annual Salary: $27,500,000 Signing Age: 32Ī-Rod re-signed with the Bronx Bombers after opting out of the final three seasons and $81 million of a landmark $252 million deal (now No. Alex Rodriguez, New York Yankees – $275M (10 years) 2 on the Padres behind Tatis despite being at $300 million. To underscore salary escalation, consider this: In less than three years after Machado’s deal more than doubled the largest in Padres history, he’s gone from having baseball’s highest free-agent contract to fourth, from having the second-highest contract behind Stanton to ninth, and even dropped to No.

Manny Machado, San Diego Padres – $300M (10 years) 1 pick in a 2011 draft top 10 that included Lindor, Anthony Rendon (tied for 14th below) and Trevor Bauer (his $45 million 2022 salary is a one-year high Max Scherzer’s $43.3M is the overall average high for MLB contracts).ĩ. Years: 2020-28 Average Annual Salary: $36,000,000 Signing Age: 29Ĭole and the Yankees made the math easy with a $36 million base salary in each of the nine years of the free agent pitcher’s contract. Gerrit Cole, New York Yankees – $324M (9 years) The Rangers agreed to a seven-year, $175 million contract with Marcus Semien just 24 hours earlier, so they had a half-billion dollars worth of middle infield deals in a two-day span. Seager and the Rangers beat the start of the lockout in December 2021 with the second-highest free agent contract in major league history. Corey Seager, Texas Rangers – $325M (10 years) While ridding themselves of the final 10 years of the deal, the Marlins agreed to pay $30 million, which will be spread across 2026-28. Years: 2015-27 Average Annual Salary: $25,000,000 Signing Age: 25Īfter signing baseball’s then-richest contract following the 2014 season, Stanton played three more years with the Marlins before they traded him to the New York Yankees. Giancarlo Stanton, Miami Marlins – $325M (13 years) Also seated are former Phillies general manager Matt Klentak, left, and Harper’s agent Scott Boras, right. It still ranks highest among baseball free agent contracts (non-extensions).īryce Harper, center, speaks at a news conference to announce the Phillies signing him to the largest free agent contract in MLB history on March 2, 2019. Years: 2019-31 Average Annual Salary: $25,384,615 Signing Age: 26īefore Harper’s contract was surpassed by Trout in the top-this spending spree prior to the 2019 season, it bettered Manny Machado’s then-record total (now No. Bryce Harper, Philadelphia Phillies – $330M (13 years) He was 22 in February 2021 when extended to baseball’s longest contract in years (14).

MLB teams have increasingly sought to sign younger players to long-term contracts at the service-time level, but Tatis’ shattered previous deals. Fernando Tatis Jr., San Diego Padres – $340M (14 years) With $50 million in deferred compensation, the deal will keep on giving through annual $5 million payments from 2032-41. Lindor agreed to a contract extension in March 2021, just over two months after the Mets acquired the shortstop from Cleveland. Francisco Lindor, New York Mets – $341M (10 years) It included an MLB-record $65 million signing bonus. Years: 2021-32 Average Annual Salary: $30,416,667 Signing Age: 27Īfter trading for Betts from the Boston Red Sox in February 2020, the Dodgers inked the outfielder to a contract extension in July right before the start of the pandemic-delayed season. Mookie Betts, Los Angeles Dodgers – $365M (12 years) The amount was over $100 million higher than Bryce Harper’s then-No. Trout’s contract, signed in March 2019, added two years to the outfielder’s existing deal with the Angels and easily remains the highest in MLB history. Mike Trout, Los Angeles Angels – $426.5M (12 years) (Via Spotrac contract values do not include proration with the shortened 2020 season) 1.
