List of highest-paid Major League Baseball players

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In 2019, Mike Trout signed a 12-year, $426 million contract with the Angels, the richest contract in the history of North American sports at the time. Mike Trout 2019.jpg
In 2019, Mike Trout signed a 12-year, $426 million contract with the Angels, the richest contract in the history of North American sports at the time.
Alex Rodriguez earned the highest salary in MLB in 2013 at $28,000,000. He also has the highest career earnings in MLB history, as well as a record 13 years with the highest AAV. Alex Rodriguez 2007-09-29.jpg
Alex Rodriguez earned the highest salary in MLB in 2013 at $28,000,000. He also has the highest career earnings in MLB history, as well as a record 13 years with the highest AAV.

Major League Baseball (MLB) does not have a hard salary cap, instead employing a luxury tax that applies to teams whose total payroll exceeds certain set thresholds for a given season. [1] [2] Free agency did not exist in MLB prior to the end of the reserve clause in the 1970s, allowing owners before that time to wholly dictate the terms of player negotiations and resulting in significantly lower salaries.

Contents

Babe Ruth, widely regarded as one of the greatest baseball players ever, earned an estimated $856,850 ($20,140,238 inflation-adjusted from 1934 dollars) over his entire playing career. [3] When asked whether he thought he deserved to earn $80,000 a year ($1,505,817 inflation-adjusted), while the president, Herbert Hoover, had a $75,000 salary, Ruth famously remarked, "What the hell has Hoover got to do with it? Besides, I had a better year than he did." [4] [5]

Pitcher Nolan Ryan was the first player to earn an annual salary above $1 million, signing a $4.5 million, 4-year contract with the Houston Astros in 1979. [6] Kirby Puckett and Rickey Henderson signed the first contracts which paid an average of $3 million a year in November 1989. In 1990, Jose Canseco signed for 5 years and $23.5 million, making him the first player to earn an average of $4 million a year. It wasn't until 2010 when the average salary for all MLB players exceeded $4 million. [7] [8]

Alex Rodriguez signed two record-breaking contracts during his career. First, he signed a $252 million, 10-year contract with the Texas Rangers in December 2000 ($460,125,217 inflation-adjusted from 2000 dollars). [9] Baseball executive Sandy Alderson called the deal "stupefying," while Sports Illustrated noted that Rodriguez's early salaries under the contract ($21 million) would be greater than the annual payroll of the entire Minnesota Twins team that year ($15.8 million). [9] The deal was the largest sports contract in history, doubling the total value of Kevin Garnett's $126 million National Basketball Association contract (the previous record holder) and more than doubling Mike Hampton's $121 million contract, the previous MLB record which had been signed just days before. [9] The Rangers traded Rodriguez before the 2004 season to the New York Yankees for Alfonso Soriano, though Texas agreed to pay $67 million of the $179 million outstanding on the contract. [10] Rodriguez then opted out of the remainder of his deal after the 2007 season and renegotiated a new $275 million, 10-year agreement with the Yankees, breaking his own record for the largest sports contract. [11] [H]

Though retired since 2007, Barry Bonds' career earnings of over $192 million still ranks in the top 50 overall in MLB history. 20060825 Barry Bonds follow through.jpg
Though retired since 2007, Barry Bonds' career earnings of over $192 million still ranks in the top 50 overall in MLB history.

Five of the 20 highest-paid players in 2013 were members of the Yankees. Their 2013 payroll was $228,835,490, roughly $12 million above the second-largest Los Angeles Dodgers. [12] The Yankees have drawn criticism for their payroll, with some claiming it undermines the parity of MLB. [13] [14] From 2003 to 2024, the Yankees' payroll exceeded the luxury tax threshold every year except 2018 and 2021. Following 2020, the Dodgers and New York Mets have led the majors in payroll. [15] The Dodgers signed Shohei Ohtani to a ten-year, $700 million contract before the 2024 season, though most of that money was deferred. Accounting for net present value, Juan Soto signed a larger contract with the Mets before the 2025 season, a 15-year, $765 million contract with no deferred money. [16]

Key

Key
Member of the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum
1B First baseman
2B Second baseman
3B Third baseman
SS Shortstop
LF Left fielder
CF Center fielder
RF Right fielder
C Catcher
SP Starting pitcher
RP Relief pitcher
DH Designated hitter

Highest current annual salaries

This table refers to the average annual salary for 2025, without considering signing bonuses or deferred payments. [17]

RankNamePositionTeam(s)Salary
1 Shohei Ohtani DH/SP Los Angeles Dodgers $70 million
2 Juan Soto OF New York Mets $51 million
3 Zach Wheeler SP Philadelphia Phillies $42 million
4 Aaron Judge OF New York Yankees $40 million
Alex Bregman 3B Boston Red Sox
6 Jacob deGrom SP Texas Rangers $37 million
7 Blake Snell SP Los Angeles Dodgers $36.4 million
8 Gerrit Cole SP New York Yankees $36 million
9 Mike Trout OF Los Angeles Angels $35.5 million
10 Anthony Rendon 3B Los Angeles Angels $35 million
Corbin Burnes SP Arizona Diamondbacks

Top 10 career earnings

Earnings up to date as of the end of the 2024 season. [E] [18]
NameTeam(s)PositionYearsEarnings
Alex Rodriguez Seattle Mariners
Texas Rangers
New York Yankees
SS, 3B1994–2016$455.2 million
Justin Verlander Detroit Tigers
Houston Astros
New York Mets
San Francisco Giants
SP2006–Present$394.2 million
Miguel Cabrera Florida Marlins
Detroit Tigers
1B, 3B2003–2023$393.2 million
Albert Pujols St. Louis Cardinals
Los Angeles Angels
Los Angeles Dodgers
1B, 3B, OF, DH2001–2022$341.8 million
Zack Greinke Kansas City Royals
Milwaukee Brewers
Los Angeles Angels
Los Angeles Dodgers
Arizona Diamondbacks
Houston Astros
SP2004–Present$315.9 million
Max Scherzer Arizona Diamondbacks
Detroit Tigers
Washington Nationals
Los Angeles Dodgers
New York Mets
Texas Rangers
Toronto Blue Jays
SP2008–Present$314.6 million
Clayton Kershaw Los Angeles Dodgers SP2009–Present$298.7 million
Mike Trout Los Angeles Angels OF2011-Present$267.7 million
Derek Jeter New York Yankees SS1995–2014$266.3 million
C.C. Sabathia Cleveland Indians
Milwaukee Brewers
New York Yankees
SP2001–2019$264.8 million

Salary progression

Nolan Ryan (pictured) became the first player to earn an average salary above $1 million in 1979. 17 years later, Albert Belle became the first player to average above $10 million a year. Nolan Ryan in Atlanta close-up.jpg
Nolan Ryan (pictured) became the first player to earn an average salary above $1 million in 1979. 17 years later, Albert Belle became the first player to average above $10 million a year.
This list documents the progression of the highest average annual value contracts/contract extensions. [19] [P]
Average annual salaryDate signedNameTeamPositionContract duration
(Years)
Ref(s)
$166,667February 17, 1971 Carl Yastrzemski Boston Red Sox OF3 [20]
$250,000February 27, 1973 Dick Allen Chicago White Sox 1B3 [21]
$640,000December 31, 1974 Catfish Hunter New York Yankees SP5 [22]
$800,000February 3, 1979 Rod Carew California Angels 1B5 [23]
$1,170,000November 19, 1979 Nolan Ryan Houston Astros SP3 [6] [24]
$2,500,000 [a] December 15, 1980 Dave Winfield New York Yankees RF10 [25] [26]
$2,600,000September 4, 1985 Eddie Murray Baltimore Orioles 1B5 [27] [28]
$2,633,333 [b] February 16, 1989 Orel Hershiser Los Angeles Dodgers SP3 [29] [30]
$2,970,000November 17, 1989 Bret Saberhagen Kansas City Royals SP3 [31] [32]
$3,000,000 [c] November 22, 1989 Kirby Puckett Minnesota Twins CF3 [33] [34]
$3,200,000December 1, 1989 Mark Langston California Angels SP5 [35] [36]
$3,250,000December 11, 1989 Mark Davis Kansas City Royals SP4 [37] [38]
$3,500,000January 17, 1990 Dave Stewart Oakland Athletics SP2 [39] [40]
$3,750,000January 22, 1990 Will Clark San Francisco Giants 1B4 [41] [42]
$3,860,000April 9, 1990 Don Mattingly New York Yankees 1B5 [43] [44]
$4,700,000June 28, 1990 Jose Canseco Oakland Athletics RF/DH5 [45] [46]
$5,380,000February 2, 1991 Roger Clemens Boston Red Sox SP4 [47] [48]
$5,800,000December 2, 1991 Bobby Bonilla New York Mets 3B/RF5 [49] [50]
$7,100,000March 2, 1992 Ryne Sandberg Chicago Cubs 2B4 [51] [52]
$7,290,000December 6, 1992 Barry Bonds San Francisco Giants LF6 [53]
$8,500,000January 31, 1996 Ken Griffey Jr. Seattle Mariners CF4 [54] [55]
$11,000,000November 19, 1996 Albert Belle Chicago White Sox LF5 [56] [57]
$11,450,000March 20, 1997 Barry Bonds San Francisco Giants LF2 [58]
$11,500,000August 10, 1997 Greg Maddux Atlanta Braves SP5 [59] [60]
$12,500,000December 10, 1997 Pedro Martínez Boston Red Sox SP6 [61] [62]
$13,000,000October 26, 1998 Mike Piazza New York Mets C7 [63] [64]
$13,333,333November 25, 1998 Mo Vaughn Anaheim Angels 1B6 [65] [66]
$15,000,000December 12, 1998 Kevin Brown Los Angeles Dodgers SP7 [67] [68]
$15,450,000 [d] August 11, 2000 Roger Clemens New York Yankees SP2 [d] [47] [69]
$17,000,000October 20, 2000 Carlos Delgado Toronto Blue Jays 1B4 [70] [71]
$25,200,000December 10, 2000 Alex Rodriguez Texas Rangers SS10 [9] [72]
$27,500,000December 13, 2007 Alex Rodriguez New York Yankees 3B10 [11] [72]
$30,714,285January 15, 2014 Clayton Kershaw Los Angeles Dodgers SP7 [73]
$31,000,000March 27, 2014 Miguel Cabrera Detroit Tigers 1B8 [74]
$34,400,000December 8, 2015 Zack Greinke Arizona Diamondbacks SP6 [75]
$35,541,667March 19, 2019 Mike Trout Los Angeles Angels CF12 [76]
$36,000,000December 16, 2019 Gerrit Cole New York Yankees SP9 [77]
$43,333,333November 29, 2021 Max Scherzer New York Mets SP3 [78]
$46,081,476 [f] December 11, 2023 Shohei Ohtani Los Angeles Dodgers DH/SP10 [79]
$51,000,000December 9, 2024 Juan Soto New York Mets OF15 [16] [80]

See also

Notes

References

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