Slugger Juan Soto, one of the most coveted free agents ever to hit Major League Baseball’s open market, has reportedly agreed to a 15-year, $765 million contract with the New York Mets. As you would expect with a player as productive and as young as Soto is – he’s still just 26 years of age – it’ll be the most lucrative contract in baseball history by the time the ink dries.
What’s the rest of the list? Well fancy that, below you’ll find the answer to that particular question. We’ve sorted by total guaranteed salary without any adjustments made for deferrals. That’s why, as you’re about to see, Dodgers two-way superstar Shohei Ohtani comes in at his $700 million despite the fact that his salary obligations are heavily, heavily deferred into the distant future, thus significantly lowering the present-day value of his contract.
To the (very high) numbers …
Largest contracts in MLB history
- Juan Soto, New York Mets: 15 years, $765 million (free agent)
- Shohei Ohtani, Los Angeles Dodgers: 10 years, $700 million (free agent)
- Mike Trout, Los Angeles Angels: 12 years, $426.5 million (extension)
- Mookie Betts, Los Angeles Dodgers: 12 years, $365 million (extension)
- Aaron Judge, New York Yankees: Nine years, $360 million (free agent)
- Manny Machado, San Diego Padres: 11 years, $350 million (extension)
- Francisco Lindor, New York Mets: 10 years, $341 million (extension)
- Fernando Tatis Jr., San Diego Padres: 14 years, $340 million (extension)
- Bryce Harper, Philadelphia Phillies: 13 years, $330 million (free agent)
- Tie – Giancarlo Stanton, Miami Marlins/New York Yankees: 13 years, $325 million (extension); Corey Seager, Texas Rangers: 10 years, $325 million (free agent); Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Los Angeles Dodgers: 12 years, $325 million (free agent)
Ohtani set the record (and then some) barely a year ago, a mammoth contract for a two-way player the likes of which MLB had never seen before. Now Soto holds that honor, a $765 million pact with the Mets the likes of which MLB has never seen before. Is this the new normal, a record-setting contract every winter? Probably not. But suffice to say, there’s plenty of money to go around.
