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.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> 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 $856,850 ($Template:Inflation inflation-adjusted from 1934 dollars) over his entire playing career.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> When asked whether he thought he deserved to earn $80,000 a year ($Template:Inflation 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."<ref>Template:Cite book</ref><ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
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.<ref name="landmarkfa">Template:Cite magazine</ref> 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.<ref name="2010avg">Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref>
Alex Rodriguez signed two record-breaking contracts during his career. First, he signed a $252 million, 10-year contract with the Texas Rangers in December 2000 ($Template:Inflation inflation-adjusted from 2000 dollars).<ref name="aroddeal1">Template:Cite magazine</ref> 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).<ref name="aroddeal1"/> 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.<ref name="aroddeal1"/> 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.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> 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.<ref name="aroddeal2">Template:Cite web</ref>Template:Ref label
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.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> The Yankees have drawn criticism for their payroll, with some claiming it undermines the parity of MLB.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> 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.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> 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.<ref name=":0" />
Key
| Template:Dagger | 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.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
| 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
- Earnings up to date as of the end of the 2024 season.Template:Ref label<ref name="arodspotrac">Template:Cite web</ref>
Salary progression
- This list documents the progression of the highest average annual value contracts/contract extensions.<ref name="cnnsitable">Template:Cite magazine</ref>Template:Ref label
See also
- Highest-paid NBA players by season
- List of player salaries in the NHL
- List of highest-paid American television stars
- List of highest-paid film actors
- List of salaries
Notes
- Template:Note labelUnder 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.<ref name="aroddeal2"/> Rodriguez finished with 696 home runs, only getting a bonus for matching Mays.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
- Template:Note label "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.
- Template:Note label "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.<ref name="clemensbref"/><ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> All values are listed in nominal dollars, except for Shohei Ohtani's contract.
- Template:Note label Dave Winfield initially negotiated a 10-year deal in 1980 worth a projected $25 million ($2.5 million per year).<ref name="winfield1"/> 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).<ref name="winfieldbref"/><ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
- Template:Note labelHershiser 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.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
- Template:Note labelRickey 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.<ref name="langstonnyt"/><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
- Template:Note label 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).<ref name="clemens0203"/><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> However, the Yankees valued this deal as a $10.3 million annually, three-year deal.<ref name="cnnsitable"/> 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.<ref name="clemensbref"/><ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
- Template:Note label 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.<ref name=":1" />