List of largest sports contracts

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The following is a list of the largest sports contracts, including signing bonuses but excluding options or buyouts. This list does not reflect the highest annual salaries or career earnings, only the largest contracts and thus is limited to athletes in team sports. Since athletes in individual sports, such as golf, tennis, and boxing, do not represent a team, they do not sign contracts and earn money primarily through event winnings and endorsement deals. Included in this list are contracts totalling over $100 million.

[edit] The List

Rank	Player	Team	Sport	Length of Contract	Salary
1	Alex Rodriguez	Texas Rangers*	Baseball	10 years (2001-2010)	$252,000,000 [1]
2	Derek Jeter	New York Yankees	Baseball	10 years (2001-2010)	$189,000,000 [2]
3	Manny Ramirez	Boston Red Sox	Baseball	8 years (2001-2008)	$160,000,000 [3]
4	Todd Helton	Colorado Rockies	Baseball	11 years (2001-2011)	$141,500,000 [4]
5	Kobe Bryant	Los Angeles Lakers	Basketball	7 years (2004-2010)	$136,400,000 [5]
6	Alfonso Soriano	Chicago Cubs	Baseball	8 years (2007-2014)	$136,000,000 [6]
7	Michael Vick	Atlanta Falcons	Football	10 years (2005-2014)	$130,000,000 [7]
8	Jermaine O'Neal	Indiana Pacers	Basketball	7 years (2003-2009)	$126,558,000 [8]
9	Kevin Garnett	Minnesota Timberwolves	Basketball	7 years (1998-2004)	$126,000,000 [9]
10	Michael Schumacher	Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro*	Formula One Racing	4 years (1996-1999)	$124,000,000 [10]
11	Chris Webber	Sacramento Kings*	Basketball	7 years (2001-2007)	$122,718,750 [11]
12	Tim Duncan	San Antonio Spurs	Basketball	7 years (2003-2009)	$122,007,704 [12]
13	Mike Hampton	Colorado Rockies*	Baseball	8 years (2001-2008)	$121,000,000 [13]
14	Shaquille O'Neal	Los Angeles Lakers*	Basketball	7 years (1996-2002)	$120,000,000 [14]
15	Jason Giambi	New York Yankees	Baseball	7 years (2002-2008)	$120,000,000 [15]
16	Carson Palmer	Cincinnati Bengals	Football	9 years (2006-2014)	$119,750,000 [16]
17	Carlos Beltran	New York Mets	Baseball	7 years (2005-2011)	$119,000,000 [17]
18	Ken Griffey, Jr.	Cincinnati Reds	Baseball	9 years (2000-2008)	$116,500,000 [18]
19	Donovan McNabb	Philadelphia Eagles	Football	12 years (2002-2013)	$119,750,000 [19]
20	Kevin Brown	Los Angeles Dodgers*	Baseball	7 years (1999-2005)	$105,000,000 [20]
21	Jason Kidd	New Jersey Nets	Basketball	6 years (2003-2008)	$103,572,000 [21]
22	Albert Pujols	St. Louis Cardinals	Baseball	7 years (2004-2010)	$100,000,000 [22]
23	Carlos Lee	Houston Astros	Baseball	6 years (2007-2012)	$100,000,000 [23]
24	Shaquille O'Neal	Miami Heat	Basketball	5 years (2005-2009)	$100,000,000 [24]
		*- no longer plays for team

[edit] Notes

• 5 players have won championships after signing their contract: Manny Ramirez (2004), Michael Schumacher (2000-2004), Tim Duncan (2003, 2005), Shaquille O' Neal (2000-2002, 2006), and Albert Pujols (2006).
• 5 players have won MVP awards after signing their contract: Alex Rodriguez (2003, 2005), Kevin Garnett (2004), Tim Duncan (2003), Shaquille O'Neal (2000), and Albert Pujols (2005).
• Michael Schumacher and Kevin Brown are the only retired players on this list.
• During his career, Michael Schumacher actually had higher annual earnings than anyone on this list (excluding endorsements) even though his contract ranks 10th. On top of his $31 million per year paid by the Ferrari team, he earned a significant amount more per year from race winnings.
• 7 players have missed about half a season or more due to injury since signing their contract: Chris Webber (missed 58 games in '03-'04, and 60 games in '04-'05), Mike Hampton (missed 23 starts out of an estimated 35 in 2005, and missed all of 2006), Jason Giambi (missed 82 games in 2004), Ken Griffey, Jr. (missed 92 games in 2002, 109 games in 2003, and 79 games in 2004), Donovan McNabb (missed 7 games in 2005), Jermaine O'Neal (missed 38 games in '04-'05), and Kevin Brown (missed 18 out of an estimated 35 starts in 2002, and 22 out of an estimated 35 starts in 2005).
• 5 players were traded by the teams that signed them: Alex Rodriguez (traded by the Texas Rangers to the New York Yankees in 2004), Chris Webber (traded by the Sacramento Kings to the Philadelphia 76ers in 2005), Mike Hampton (traded by the Colorado Rockies to the Atlanta Braves in 2002), Shaquille O'Neal (traded by the Los Angeles Lakers to the Miami Heat in 2004), and Kevin Brown (traded by the Los Angeles Dodgers to the New York Yankees in 2003).
• Ken Griffey, Jr. and Todd Helton have never appeared in a postseason game since signing their contracts in 2000 and 2001, respectively.

[edit] See also

• List of highest paid baseball players