Want to know which are the biggest contracts in MLB history? As time goes by, the salaries in the sports industry seem to grow at an incredible, ever-expanding pace. It is no secret that the business of professional sports is a profitable one for everyone who is involved in one way or another. But players are without a doubt one of the biggest beneficiaries. Baseball teams’ owners appear to be the best at offering outstanding amounts of money to athletes to play for them, thanks in part to 162 game seasons and giant stadiums that seat 50,000 fans, which allow them to sell as many as 4 million tickets in one season (which a few different teams have accomplished). Oh, and then there’s the whole no-salary cap thing, although MLB does now have a luxury tax.
In fact, if you take a look at sports contracts in general, 19 out of the 20 largest ones belong to MLB players. When we talk about sports contracts, we naturally do not include individual sports such as golf or tennis, which are based on winnings from events. To take a peek at those figures just go to our list on the 15 Highest-Earning Golf Players in the World.
In compiling this countdown we ranked the biggest contracts in MLB history by their total value, regardless of the length of the contract. However, we did include average yearly figures for how those contracts would translate into yearly earnings and game earnings. If you take a good look at those numbers, you’ll see that the bigger the contract does not necessarily mean the greatest amount of money in the long run. In fact, the top gross contract is not the highest in average value per year.
Are you curious about the biggest contracts in MLB history? Let’s take a look at the countdown and find out just how large these juicy baseball contracts have gotten.
20. Masahiro Tanaka
Team: New York Yankees
Length of Contract: 7 years (2014–2020)
Contract Value: $155,000,000
Average per Year: $22,141,857
Average per Game: $136,684.30
19. Troy Tulowitzki
Team: Colorado Rockies
Length of Contract: 10 years (2011–2020)
Contract Value: $157,750,000
Average per Year: $15,775,000
Average per Game: $97,376.54
18. Manny Ramírez
Team: Boston Red Sox
Length of Contract: 8 years (2001–2008)
Contract Value: $160,000,000
Average per Year: $20,000,000
Average per Game: $123,456.79
17. Matt Kemp
Team: Los Angeles Dodgers
Length of Contract: 8 years (2012–2019)
Contract Value: $160,000,000
Average per Year: $20,000,000
Average per Game: $123,456.79
16. CC Sabathia
Team: New York Yankees
Length of Contract: 7 years (2009–2015)
Contract Value: $161,000,000
Average per Year: $23,000,000
Average per Game: $141,975.31
15. Buster Posey
Team: San Francisco Giants
Length of Contract: 9 years (2013–2021)
Contract Value: $167,000,000
Average per Year: $18,555,556
Average per Game: $114,540.47
14. Félix Hernández
Team: Seattle Mariners
Length of Contract: 7 years (2013–2019)
Contract Value: $175,000,000
Average per Year: $25,000,000
Average per Game: $154,320.99
13. Justin Verlander
Team: Detroit Tigers
Length of Contract: 7 years (2013–2019)
Contract Value: $180,000,000
Average per Year: $25,714,286
Average per Game: $158,730.16
12. Mark Teixeira
Team: New York Yankees
Length of Contract: 8 years (2009–2016)
Contract Value: $180,000,000
Average per Year: $22,500,000
Average per Game: $138,888.89
11. Joe Mauer
Team: Minnesota Twins
Length of Contract: 8 years (2011–2018)
Contract Value: $184,000,000
Average per Year: $23,000,000
Average per Game: $141,975.31
10. Derek Jeter
Team: New York Yankees
Length of Contract: 10 years (2001–2010)
Contract Value: $189,000,000
Average per Year: $18,900,000
Average per Game: $116,666.67
9. Prince Fiedler
Team: Detroit Tigers
Length of Contract: 9 years (2012–2020)
Contract Value: $214,000,000
Average per Year: $23,777,777
Average per Game: $146,776.40
8. Clayton Kershaw
Team: Los Angeles Dodgers
Length of Contract: 7 years (2014–2020)
Contract Value: $215,000,000
Average per Year: $30,151,500
Average per Game: $186,120.37
7. Joey Votto
Team: Cincinnati Reds
Length of Contract: 10 years (2014–2023)
Contract Value: $225,000,000
Average per Year: $22,500,000
Average per Game: $138,888.89
6. Albert Pujols
Team: Los Angeles Angels
Length of Contract: 10 years (2012–2021)
Contract Value: $240,000,000
Average per Year: $24,000,000
Average per Game: $148,148.15
5. Robinson Cano
Team: Seattle Mariners
Length of Contract: 10 years (2014–2023)
Contract Value: $240,000,000
Average per Year: $24,000,000
Average per Game: $148,148.15
4. Alex Rodriguez
Team: Texas Rangers
Length of Contract: 10 years (2001–2010)
Contract Value: $252,000,000
Average per Year: $25,200,000
Average per Game: $155,555.56
3. Alex Rodriguez
Team: New York Yankees
Length of Contract: 10 years (2008–2017)
Contract Value: $275,000,000
Average per Year: $27,500,000
Average per Game: $169,753.09
2. Miguel Cabrera
Team: Detroit Tigers
Length of Contract: 10 years (2014–2023)
Contract Value: $292,000,000
Average per Year: $29,200,000
Average per Game: $180,246.91
1. Giancarlo Stanton
Team: Miami Marlins
Length of Contract: 13 years (2015-2027)
Contract Value: $325,000,000
Average per Year: $25,000,000
Average per Game: $154,320.99
