List of highest-paid Major League Baseball players
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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.
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]
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
| † | 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]
| Rank | Name | Position | Team(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
Salary progression
- This list documents the progression of the highest average annual value contracts/contract extensions.[19][P]
| Average annual salary | Date signed | Name | Team | Position | Contract duration (Years) |
Ref(s) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| $166,667 | February 17, 1971 | Carl Yastrzemski† | Boston Red Sox | OF | 3 | [20] |
| $250,000 | February 27, 1973 | Dick Allen † | Chicago White Sox | 1B | 3 | [21] |
| $640,000 | December 31, 1974 | Catfish Hunter† | New York Yankees | SP | 5 | [22] |
| $800,000 | February 3, 1979 | Rod Carew† | California Angels | 1B | 5 | [23] |
| $1,170,000 | November 19, 1979 | Nolan Ryan† | Houston Astros | SP | 3 | [6][24] |
| $2,500,000[a] | December 15, 1980 | Dave Winfield† | New York Yankees | RF | 10 | [25][26] |
| $2,600,000 | September 4, 1985 | Eddie Murray† | Baltimore Orioles | 1B | 5 | [27][28] |
| $2,633,333[b] | February 16, 1989 | Orel Hershiser | Los Angeles Dodgers | SP | 3 | [29][30] |
| $2,970,000 | November 17, 1989 | Bret Saberhagen | Kansas City Royals | SP | 3 | [31][32] |
| $3,000,000[c] | November 22, 1989 | Kirby Puckett† | Minnesota Twins | CF | 3 | [33][34] |
| $3,200,000 | December 1, 1989 | Mark Langston | California Angels | SP | 5 | [35][36] |
| $3,250,000 | December 11, 1989 | Mark Davis | Kansas City Royals | SP | 4 | [37][38] |
| $3,500,000 | January 17, 1990 | Dave Stewart | Oakland Athletics | SP | 2 | [39][40] |
| $3,750,000 | January 22, 1990 | Will Clark | San Francisco Giants | 1B | 4 | [41][42] |
| $3,860,000 | April 9, 1990 | Don Mattingly | New York Yankees | 1B | 5 | [43][44] |
| $4,700,000 | June 28, 1990 | Jose Canseco | Oakland Athletics | RF/DH | 5 | [45][46] |
| $5,380,000 | February 2, 1991 | Roger Clemens | Boston Red Sox | SP | 4 | [47][48] |
| $5,800,000 | December 2, 1991 | Bobby Bonilla | New York Mets | 3B/RF | 5 | [49][50] |
| $7,100,000 | March 2, 1992 | Ryne Sandberg† | Chicago Cubs | 2B | 4 | [51][52] |
| $7,290,000 | December 6, 1992 | Barry Bonds | San Francisco Giants | LF | 6 | [53] |
| $8,500,000 | January 31, 1996 | Ken Griffey Jr.† | Seattle Mariners | CF | 4 | [54][55] |
| $11,000,000 | November 19, 1996 | Albert Belle | Chicago White Sox | LF | 5 | [56][57] |
| $11,450,000 | March 20, 1997 | Barry Bonds | San Francisco Giants | LF | 2 | [58] |
| $11,500,000 | August 10, 1997 | Greg Maddux† | Atlanta Braves | SP | 5 | [59][60] |
| $12,500,000 | December 10, 1997 | Pedro Martínez† | Boston Red Sox | SP | 6 | [61][62] |
| $13,000,000 | October 26, 1998 | Mike Piazza† | New York Mets | C | 7 | [63][64] |
| $13,333,333 | November 25, 1998 | Mo Vaughn | Anaheim Angels | 1B | 6 | [65][66] |
| $15,000,000 | December 12, 1998 | Kevin Brown | Los Angeles Dodgers | SP | 7 | [67][68] |
| $15,450,000[d] | August 11, 2000 | Roger Clemens | New York Yankees | SP | 2[d] | [47][69] |
| $17,000,000 | October 20, 2000 | Carlos Delgado | Toronto Blue Jays | 1B | 4 | [70][71] |
| $25,200,000 | December 10, 2000 | Alex Rodriguez | Texas Rangers | SS | 10 | [9][72] |
| $27,500,000 | December 13, 2007 | Alex Rodriguez | New York Yankees | 3B | 10 | [11][72] |
| $30,714,285 | January 15, 2014 | Clayton Kershaw | Los Angeles Dodgers | SP | 7 | [73] |
| $31,000,000 | March 27, 2014 | Miguel Cabrera | Detroit Tigers | 1B | 8 | [74] |
| $34,400,000 | December 8, 2015 | Zack Greinke | Arizona Diamondbacks | SP | 6 | [75] |
| $35,541,667 | March 19, 2019 | Mike Trout | Los Angeles Angels | CF | 12 | [76] |
| $36,000,000 | December 16, 2019 | Gerrit Cole | New York Yankees | SP | 9 | [77] |
| $43,333,333 | November 29, 2021 | Max Scherzer | New York Mets | SP | 3 | [78] |
| $46,081,476[f] | December 11, 2023 | Shohei Ohtani | Los Angeles Dodgers | DH/SP | 10 | [79] |
| $51,000,000 | December 9, 2024 | Juan Soto | New York Mets | OF | 15 | [16][80] |
See also
Notes
- H Under this deal, Rodriguez would also receive $6 million bonuses when he tied the career home run totals of Willie Mays (660), Babe Ruth (714), Hank Aaron (755), and Barry Bonds (762), as well as for breaking Bonds' record.[11] Rodriguez finished with 696 home runs, only getting a bonus for matching Mays.[81]
- E "Earnings" as discussed here refers to salaries paid to players under MLB contracts and does not include advertising or other sources of income. All values are listed in nominal dollars.
- P "Average annual value" is calculated as the total value of a contract (less bonuses) divided by the number of years. A $20 million, 2-year contract would have an average annual value of $10 million, even if the player actually received $9 million one season and $11 million in the other. This also does not include contracts for less than a season prorated in value for a full season such as Roger Clemens' 2006 and 2007 contracts.[47][82][83][84][85] All values are listed in nominal dollars, except for Shohei Ohtani's contract.
- a Dave Winfield initially negotiated a 10-year deal in 1980 worth a projected $25 million ($2.5 million per year).[26] However, Yankees owner George Steinbrenner reportedly had not fully understood a cost of living adjustment provision in it and the 10-year contract was renegotiated a few months later. The final precise value is unclear, although it fell between $20 and $25 million in total value ($2–2.5 million a year).[25][86][87][88]
- b Hershiser and Frank Viola both won the 1988 Cy Young Award, and Viola signed an identically sized $7.9 million, 3-year contract two months after Hershiser.[89]
- c Rickey Henderson signed a $12 million, 4-year contract with the Oakland Athletics on November 28, 1989, 6 days after Puckett signed his $9 million, 3-year contract.[36][90]
- d Roger Clemens signed a contract extension during the 2000 season covering 2001 and 2002 along with a player option for 2003. Clemens was paid $10.3 million each year for 2001 and 2002, with the same $10.3 million available if he elected to play in 2003 under his option. However, Clemens also received $10.3 million if he rejected the option. As a result, he could effectively collect the full $30.9 million of contract value for only two years of play ($15.45 million annually).[69][91] However, the Yankees valued this deal as a $10.3 million annually, three-year deal.[19] He became a free agent after the 2002 season and ultimately re-signed with the Yankees for a new, one-year contract in which they bought out the previous option.[47][92]
- f Shohei Ohtani signed a $700 million, 10-year contract with the Dodgers. He will receive $2 million a year for ten years and then $68 million a year for the following ten years. Because of this, the net present value is lower than $70 million per season.[79]
References
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