The 10 biggest contracts in MLB history as Carlos Correa breaks into top five
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Yesterday, the San Francisco Giants delivered a mega-deal to shortstop Carlos Correa that made him the highest-paid middle infielder ever.
It’s part of a growing trend in Major League Baseball, which consistently generates some of the biggest contracts in the history of the sport.
For example, while only two baseball contracts are among the top five largest sports deals, baseball has 15 of the top 20 and 19 of the top 25 deals.
Yesterday, the San Francisco Giants agreed to the fourth largest contract in baseball history.
That got us wondering what the biggest deals in America’s pastime history were. What we found out was that all of the contracts were awarded to players who are currently active in the league.
Not only that, but all of the contracts that appear on this list are also active, which means that the players here are still playing with the agreements that they signed. Only one of the following players is not currently in the team with which he signed his contract.
Without further ado, DailyMail.com now looks to see where Correa ranks among the biggest contracts in league history.
10. Gerrit Cole, SP, New York Yankees / nine years, $324 million / AAV: $36 million
Baseball’s most expensive pitcher is a five-time All-Star and the first of many Yankees on this list.
After losing to the Astros in the 2019 World Series, the California native signed a contract with New York, a team that had recruited him out of high school.
In 2021 with the Yankees, Cole led the American League in wins and was selected to the All-MLB First Team. Last season, he struck out the league for the second time in his career.
Gerrit Cole landed the largest pitching contract in baseball history by signing with the Yankees
T9. Giancarlo Stanton, OF, Miami Marlins / 13 years, $325 million / AAV: $25 million
This is the oldest contract on this list, having been signed by the slugger in 2015. At the time, it was the richest contract in professional sports.
At the time, Stanton had just won his first Silver Slugger Award and his first Hank Aaron Award as the National League leader in home runs.
For the 2017 season, he added another Silver Slugger and another Hank Aaron Award in addition to being named the National League MVP.
That offseason, the Marlins changed ownership and Stanton was traded to the Yankees in an effort to start a rebuild Miami may not have needed. Since that trade, Stanton has hit more than 100 home runs for New York.
The deal Giancarlo Stanton signed in 2015 was the richest in professional sports at the time.
T9. Corey Seager, SS, Texas Rangers / 10 years, $325 million / AAV: $32.5 million
Signed just last season, the 2016 National League Rookie of the Year found a payday with the Texas Rangers.
While Texas is nowhere near a World Series yet, Seager did win a title in 2020, and the shortstop earned MVP honors during that championship run.
Last season, Seager hit .245/.317/.455 after signing the largest contract in Rangers history.
After finding success in Los Angeles with the Dodgers, Corey Seager took the money in Texas
7. Bryce Harper, OF, Philadelphia Phillies / 13 years, $330 million / AAV: $25.3 million
Harper was by far the biggest name on the market in 2018 and sparked controversy by picking a different NL East team to play for.
After spending most of his career in more than two hours south of Washington, Harper decided to pack up and move to Philadelphia while he watched his former team win a World Series the next season.
Harper came close to his own title last season, but Philadelphia ran out of gas against a superior Astros team in the World Series.
A World Series run last postseason could be a sign of things to come for Bryce Harper
6. Fernando Tatís Jr., SS, San Diego Padres / 14 years, $340 million / AAV: $24.2 million
In 2020, Fernando Tatís Jr. was one of the most exciting and fun-to-watch players in all of Major League Baseball and the face of a fun young Padres team that fell in that season’s NLCS to the Dodgers.
San Diego didn’t want to lose him, so they shelled out a massive contract that broke the record for the richest contract signed by a player not yet eligible for arbitration.
However, Tatís missed the entirety of the 2022 season, first due to recovering from surgery and then an 80-game suspension for taking anabolic steroids.
Tatís claims he took the medication to treat ringworm, but the league upheld his punishment and he won’t take the field until Game 13 of the 2023 season.
After missing the 2022 season due to injury and suspension, Fernando Tatís is ready to return
5. Francisco Lindor, SS, New York Mets / 10 years, $341 million / AAV: $34.1 million
The first major purchase of the Steve Cohen era in Mets baseball saw him bring in the biggest free agent name of the class of 2021.
He got off to a slow start in 2021, hitting .230/.322/.412 and racking up just 20 home runs and 63 RBIs, some of his lowest numbers since his rookie season (COVID season excluded).
Last year, he seemed to bounce back: He had a career-high 107 RBIs, but he also struck out a career-high 133 times. Mets fans hope he can find some consistency that kept him in the MVP conversation when he was playing in Cleveland.
Mets fans hope Francisco Lindor can perform at an MVP level and bring them a title.
4. Carlos Correa, SS, San Francisco Giants / 13 years, $350 million / AAV: $26.9 million
While many teams were linked to Correa, San Francisco hopes this deal will expand their chances of making the playoffs and challenging for a World Series title.
After winning it all with the Astros in 2017 (through… certain outlets), Correa signed a contract with Minnesota last year but opted to go on the free agent market this winter.
He also represents the last of the clients of baseball super agent Scott Boras, who has four players under his wing on this list with Correa, Harper, Seager and Cole.
Last night’s deal for Carlos Correa is the richest for a middle infielder in baseball history
3. Aaron Judge, OF, New York Yankees / nine years, $360 million / AAV: $40 million
The highest annual earner on this list, Aaron Judge, was the biggest name of the MLB Free Agency class of 2022.
Judge had just broken the American League record for most home runs in a season and was due for a big payday.
After declining the Yankees’ offer early in the season, the Pinstripes pooled the money and got the slugger back, much to the fans’ delight.
The Yankees got their man this offseason, securing Aaron Judge for the rest of his career.
2. Mookie Betts, OF, Los Angeles Dodgers / 12 years, $365 million / AAV: $30.4 million
After being traded in a stunning move by the Red Sox just one season after winning the World Series with Boston, Betts signed his mega-contract in July 2020.
That season, he won his second World Series title and remains a dominant force in the Dodgers’ outfield.
In Los Angeles, he won two Gold Gloves, two Silver Sluggers and was named to the All-MLB First Team twice.
A trade to Los Angeles led to a massive extension for Betts, as he became the face of the team.
1. Mike Trout, OF, Los Angeles Angels / 12 years, $426.5 million / AAV: $35.5 million
This is not only the largest contract in MLB history, it is the second largest active contract in all of sports and the third largest contract in sports history.
Trout is a perennial MVP contender when healthy and could go down in history as the greatest player of all time, or at the rate the Angels are going, he will at least be known as the greatest player to never win the World Series.
Who is number one in the world right now? That would be Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes, who will make $503 million over ten years.
But even Mahomes is trailing behind the biggest contract in sports history: a four-year, $674 million contract awarded by FC Barcelona to a little-known soccer player named Lionel Messi.
Mike Trout’s deal was the richest contract in American sports at the time he signed it in 2019.