(This was the contract he had originally signed with the Rangers prior to the '01 season, which carried over to New York when he was traded in '04.)
First was Stanton's record extension with the Marlins in 2014, which gave Harper and his agent Scott Boras an early goal for the most guaranteed money of any kind for an MLB player.
He started off the new deal by winning American League MVP in '19, his third time receiving that honor. 1) Gerrit Cole, Yankees: $36 million (2020-28) 2-T) Stephen Strasburg, Nationals: $35 million (2020-26) Here are the 10 biggest contracts MLB free agents have ever received. These figures … Machado’s $32 million includes a $30 million salary and $2 million of his signing bonus, which is allocated in that amount over each year of the deal. In fact, it also doubled the largest professional sports contract to that point, Kevin Garnett's $126 million contract with the NBA's Timberwolves signed in 1997.A-Rod played only the first three seasons of that contract in Texas before he was traded to the Yankees, but for his part, he lived up to the deal. Top 10 free-agent contracts by average annual value. Total value isn't the only way to look at player contracts, as the length of the deal also matters. He was a three-time National League MVP Award winner ('05 and '08-09), a two-time World Series champ ('06 and '11), the '01 NL Rookie of the Year Award winner, a nine-time All-Star ('01, 2003-10), a back-to-back home run champion ('09-10) and a batting champion ('03). Machado’s first year in San Diego yielded 3.1 WAR, his lowest total since he played 82 games as a 21-year-old in 2014.Kershaw signed an extension with the Dodgers instead of opting out of his previous contract following the 2018 season. After injury limitations in recent years, Strasburg threw 209 innings in '19 and received votes for both the Cy Young and MVP. His accomplishments earned him a mega-deal with the Angels entering his age-32 season.Injuries have sapped Pujols of his elite production since he arrived in Anaheim, and the amount of money the Angels have to pay him through his decline have caused many to criticize the contract. Then, Machado Harper's deal -- the biggest free-agent contract in the history of the four major North American professional sports -- includes a full no-trade clause, per multiple reports, but notably With Cole’s deal setting a record for pitchers, both of the top two free-agent deals by total value were given to No. How did he earn it? It turned out to be a highly lucrative decision. He became just the sixth player to be an All-Star for a team that won the World Series, Rendon’s $35 million average annual value is the highest ever for a third baseman and tied for third highest regardless of position, with Strasburg.
… That's how I want to be remembered, as a guy that was productive in this game, not a guy that just feels comfortable because he gets the money. His 4.28 ERA last year was the second-highest of his career, behind only his 4.42 mark in 2009, his first full season in the Majors.At the time, Machado’s deal was just the second $300 million pact in Major League history, but it’s since been surpassed.
He then put together one of the more spectacular postseason runs in history, culminating in a World Series MVP Award.Pujols was coming off a historically great 11-year run with the Cardinals when he hit free agency following the 2011 season. Read more:
After that start, he went 16-0, with the Astros going 20-2 in his starts.
Rodriguez would go on to lead the Bronx Bombers to their 27th World Series championship in 2009. An elite two-way player, Machado will anchor what the Padres hope will be a bright future, with shortstop phenom In the middle of Game 4 of the 2007 World Series, Rodriguez's agent, Scott Boras, announced that A-Rod would be opting out of the final three years of his contract with the Yankees.
Rodriguez Rendon was considered the best position player on the free-agent market this offseason, and he got paid like it. He's reached several career milestones in Anaheim: Cano signed his contract with Seattle at age 31 after spending the first nine years of his career with the Yankees. Verlander won his second career Cy Young Award in '19, reaching 300 strikeouts for the first time in his 15-year career. That deal was the richest free-agent contract in MLB history. He struck out a league-high 326 batters, set a single-season record with nine straight 10-strikeout games and didn’t lose a regular-season game after May 22. )Harper's impending free agency defined his final season with the Nationals and dominated headlines all the way into the second week of Spring Training games, and a number of factors collaborated along the way to get Bryce to the top of this list. He’d previously won the AL Cy Young in 2011, and that span between Cy Young wins was the longest in the history of the award.Price’s $32 million salaries this year and next are the highest over the life of his deal, which he signed with the Red Sox entering the '16 season.