Top 10 Biggest Contracts in American Sports

Salaries and contracts are constantly being debated in the sports landscape, especially when they involve a lot of money.

Nowadays, with TV money increasing across all sports and teams being prepared to spend, it seems as though record-breaking contracts are being signed all the time.

Here, we'll take you through the top 10 most expensive contracts in major American sports, based on the total value of the deal.

10. Fernando Tatis Jr.

Contract: 14 years, $340 million with the San Diego Padres

You'll see quite a few baseball players make this list, and that's in large part thanks to the fact that there is no limit on contract length.

That's led to a rise in megadeals, with Fernando Tatis Jr. being among the players to sign a contract that should see him stay with the San Diego Padres for the remainder of his career.

Tatis was just 21 years old when he signed this contract, and he had two MLB seasons under his belt. In 143 games played across those two seasons, he posted 6.8 WAR while hitting .301/.374/.582 with 39 home runs, 98 RBI, 24 doubles, eight triples, and a 57-171 walk-to-strikeout ratio.

9. Francisco Lindor

Contract: 10 years, $340 million with the New York Mets

Shortstop Francisco Lindor was one of the Mets' first huge signings under the ownership of Steve Cohen.

In his first four complete seasons in Queens, Lindor has hit .259/.336/.461 with an average of 5.4 WAR, 28 home runs, 90 RBI, and 122 OPS+ per season. He has also posted 4.6 defensive WAR, had an above-average fielding percentage in each of those seasons, and led the team to the 2024 NLCS.

In his six years in Cleveland before signing this contract, he had three top-10 finishes in MVP voting, won two Silver Sluggers and two Gold Gloves, and had four All-Star appearances while never posting a single-season WAR rating below 4.0, except for the pandemic-shortened 2020 season.

8. Manny Machado

Contract: 11 years, $350 million with the San Diego Padres

Manny Machado is a relatively unique case, as he got his gigantic contract as an extension before the 2023 campaign, rather than getting it in the open market.

He signed the deal at the right time, as he was coming off a 6.8 WAR season in which he finished second in NL MVP voting. Since then, he has not posted a single-season WAR rating above 3.1 and has not added to his six career All-Star appearances.

Machado can be hot and cold at the plate, but he's been an above-average defender at the hot corner for most of his career, and even when he's not at his best offensively, he'll still make an impact for his team. That's what the Padres front office will be hoping for during the remainder of his deal.

7. Aaron Judge

Contract: 9 years, $360 million with the New York Yankees

If any of the 10 most expensive contracts in American sports could be described as a "steal," then it's Aaron Judge's contract. Not only is it shorter than many of the others on this list, but the player has put up multiple historic seasons during his current deal.

Judge signed the deal after his MVP-winning 2022 season, where he posted 10.8 WAR along with 62 home runs, 131 RBI, and a 1.111 OPS.

All he's done since getting his money is rattle off two seasons with an OPS over 1.000 while winning another MVP and leading his team to the 2024 World Series. He's on pace for similar individual success in the third year of his megadeal, and the 33-year-old has shown no signs of slowing down.

6. Mookie Betts

Contract: 12 years, $365 million with the Los Angeles Dodgers

The Boston Red Sox did not want to pay Mookie Betts, so the Los Angeles Dodgers traded for him and gave him one of the biggest deals in baseball history.

While he hasn't won an MVP with LA like he did in Boston, Betts has helped lead the club to two World Series titles, and he's been an All-Star in each of his seasons in Dodger Blue — not including the pandemic-shortened 2020 campaign.

Betts built his career on consistency, and he has brought that into the postseason. In the 2020 World Series-winning postseason, he hit .296/.378/.493 with two home runs, eight RBI, six stolen bases, and 10 walks. In 2024, he hit .290/.387/.565 with four home runs, 16 RBI, five doubles, and 10 walks.

5. Mike Trout

Contract: 12 years, $426.5 million with the Los Angeles Angels

When Mike Trout signed this huge contract with the only MLB team he's ever played for, the Los Angeles Angels, many fans thought it would continue the trend of the franchise failing to build around the best player of his generation.

If that was the expectation, then the result has been disappointing, as Trout has only played 100+ games in a season once since signing the extension. The player who posted at least 6.9 WAR each year from 2012 to 2019 has only reached the 6.0 mark once since then, in 2022, when he managed to play 119 games.

Baseball is better with Trout at his best, and fans will hope he gets back near that level sometime within the five seasons he has left on his current deal.

4. Patrick Mahomes

Contract: 10 years, $450 million with the Kansas City Chiefs

Finally, a non-MLB player makes the list. NFL players rarely get signed to contracts longer than five years given the nature of the sport, and that has mostly held true for quarterbacks even after Mahomes agreed to stay in Kansas City for 10 seasons.

Mahomes was already an MVP and Super Bowl champion by the time he inked this contract, and he's lived up to expectations with two more Super Bowl wins and another MVP since.

In the most recent couple of seasons, the front office decided to invest heavily on defense while trusting Mahomes and top target Travis Kelce to carry the offense, and it has worked out. KC made the Super Bowl in each of those two seasons, winning once.

3. Vladimir Guerrero Jr.

Contract: 14 years, $500 million with the Toronto Blue Jays

Vladimir Guerrero Jr. was primed for free agency after the 2025 MLB season, but he decided to stay with the only team he's ever played for and signed a huge contract extension with the Blue Jays. This is the most recently signed contract on this list.

His career has been up-and-down so far, but the Jays decided to bet that he'll have more ups than downs in the future. He posted 6.5 WAR and finished second in AL MVP voting as a 22-year-old in 2022, but he posted a combined WAR of 5.8 over the next two seasons.

Vlad Jr. really earned the contract in his 2024 season, when he posted 6.2 WAR and hit .323/.396/.544 with 30 homers and 103 RBI. Now, the challenge is for him to sustain that for the majority of this long-term contract.

2. Shohei Ohtani

Contract: 10 years, $700 million with the Los Angeles Dodgers

The financial figure in this deal made eyes widen across the globe when it was announced, but it was shortly revealed that $68 million per season will be deferred and paid to Ohtani after his contract expires. Ohtani reportedly made that decision to help the Dodgers spend more in the short term.

Ohtani commanded such a huge number because he's a dominant hitter and pitcher. He won two MVP Awards and had a fourth-place finish in Cy Young Award voting with the Los Angeles Angels before signing with the team across town.

In his first season as a Dodger, all he did was win MVP as a designated hitter while he recovered from elbow surgery, and he led the team to win the World Series. It was his first time in the playoffs, and in 16 postseason games, he hit .230/.373/.393 with three home runs, 10 RBI, 13 walks, and 14 runs scored.

1. Juan Soto

Contract: 15 years, $765 million with the New York Mets

Juan Soto reached free agency at a younger age than most high-profile players do, and at 26 years old, he cashed in to the tune of more than three-quarters of a billion dollars. He decided to stay in the Big Apple, leaving the New York Yankees to sign with the New York Mets.

He signed his contract off the back of a 7.9 WAR season in 2024, which was his only one with the Yankees and Aaron Judge. He hit .288/.419/.569 next to Judge in the lineup, and he also drew more walks (129) than strikeouts (119), which is a rare feat in today's MLB.

Soto has three top-five MVP finishes in his career, leads all active players in career on-base percentage (.418), and helped lead the Washington Nationals to win the World Series in 2019. In 2024, he helped the Yankees to the World Series, where the team lost to the Dodgers.