List of highest paid baseball players
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[edit] Career Earnings
The following chart lists the Major League Baseball players who have earned the greatest total salary over their career (through the end of 2006 and not including bonuses).
1. $188,245,322 - Barry Bonds 2. $170,416,252 - Alex Rodriguez 3. $152,449,473 - Randy Johnson 4. $143,845,000 - Greg Maddux 5. $143,328,346 - Manny Ramírez 6. $140,682,244 - Gary Sheffield 7. $139,630,000 - Derek Jeter 8. $139,070,987 - Ken Griffey, Jr. 9. $134,446,234 - Pedro Martínez 10. $133,462,590 - Mike Mussina 11. $130,890,502 - Kevin Brown (retired) 12. $128,134,019 - Jeff Bagwell (retired) 13. $124,068,000 - Sammy Sosa 14. $121,001,000 - Roger Clemens 15. $120,639,293 - Tom Glavine 16. $120,176,002 - Mike Piazza 17. $118,299,000 - Carlos Delgado 18. $116,095,446 - John Smoltz 19. $110,363,431 - Larry Walker (retired) 20. $108,295,001 - Jim Thome 21. $106,575,086 - Mike Hampton 22. $106,158,000 - Curt Schilling 23. $105,218,800 - Chipper Jones 24. $103,100,001 - Bernie Williams (retired) 25. $102,694,049 - Iván Rodríguez 26. $101,630,425 - Jason Giambi 27. $100,616,066 - Shawn Green 28. $100,405,001 - Mo Vaughn (retired) 29. $ 97,376,294 - Albert Belle (retired) 30. $ 92,082,416 - Andy Pettitte 31. $ 92,074,000 - Frank Thomas 32. $ 89,295,996 - Rafael Palmeiro (retired) 33. $ 87,706,500 - Andruw Jones 34. $ 87,037,500 - Juan González (retired) 35. $ 84,530,125 - Mariano Rivera 36. $ 82,165,500 - Craig Biggio (retired) 37. $ 81,930,000 - Vladimir Guerrero 38. $ 81,756,945 - Chan Ho Park 39. $ 80,340,000 - Todd Helton 40. $ 78,860,000 - Matt Williams (retired) 41. $ 78,483,474 - Moisés Alou 42. $ 78,467,500 - Barry Larkin (retired) 43. $ 77,572,907 - Jim Edmonds 44. $ 77,250,617 - Jeff Kent 45. $ 76,603,815 - Roberto Alomar (retired) 46. $ 76,379,666 - Bobby Abreu 47. $ 74,688,354 - Mark McGwire (retired) 48. $ 74,665,500 - Kenny Rogers 49. $ 71,501,973 - Scott Rolen 50. $ 71,189,000 - Johnny Damon
Source for career earnings: Baseball Reference
[edit] 2007 Annual Salaries
Ninety-eight players made $8 million or more in 2007 season. The following chart lists the top-twenty highest paid players.
1. Alex Rodriguez New York Yankees $ 27,708,525 2. Jason Giambi New York Yankees $ 23,428,571 3. Derek Jeter New York Yankees $ 21,600,000 4. Manny Ramírez Boston Red Sox $ 17,016,381 5. Todd Helton Colorado Rockies $ 16,600,000 6. Andy Pettitte New York Yankees $ 16,000,000 7. Bartolo Colón Los Angeles Angels $ 16,000,000 8. Jason Schmidt Los Angeles Dodgers $ 15,703,946 9. Jim Thome Chicago White Sox $ 15,666,667 10. Bobby Abreu New York Yankees $ 15,600,000 11. Barry Bonds San Francisco Giants $ 15,533,970 12. Richie Sexson Seattle Mariners $ 15,500,000 13. Mike Hampton Atlanta Braves $ 15,475,185 14. Carlos Delgado New York Mets $ 14,500,000 15. Vladimir Guerrero Los Angeles Angels $ 14,500,000 16. Lance Berkman Houston Astros $ 14,500,000 17. J.D. Drew Boston Red Sox $ 14,400,000 18. Pedro Martínez New York Mets $ 14,002,234 19. Andruw Jones Atlanta Braves $ 14,000,000 20. Miguel Tejada Baltimore Orioles $ 13,811,415
Source for 2007 salaries: ESPN
[edit] Annual Salaries by Year
The following chart reveals the evolution of the highest paid player in Major League Baseball. A player's yearly salary is considered to be for the maximum value of the contract divided by the term of the contract in years.
YEAR SALARY/YR PLAYER TEAM/ORGANIZATION 1927 $70,000 Babe Ruth New York Yankees 1930 $80,000 Babe Ruth New York Yankees 1949 $100,000 Ted Williams Boston Red Sox 1966 $130,000 Willie Mays San Francisco Giants 1972 $200,000 Hank Aaron Atlanta Braves 1975 $740,000 Catfish Hunter New York Yankees
Major League Baseball's reserve clause was struck down in 1976, beginning an era of free agency and thus market-value player contracts
1979 $1,000,000 Nolan Ryan Houston Astros 1981 $2,000,000 Dave Winfield New York Yankees 1985 $2,130,300 Mike Schmidt Philadelphia Phillies 1986 $2,800,000 George Foster New York Mets 1990 $3,000,000 Rickey Henderson Oakland Athletics 1991 $4,700,000 José Canseco Oakland Athletics 1992 $5,800,000 Bobby Bonilla New York Mets 1993 $5,975,000* Ryne Sandberg Chicago Cubs 1995 $9,237,500 Cecil Fielder Detroit Tigers 1997 $10,000,000 Albert Belle Chicago White Sox 1998 $14,936,667 Gary Sheffield Florida Marlins 2000 $15,714,286 Kevin Brown Los Angeles Dodgers 2001 $22,000,000 Alex Rodriguez Texas Rangers 2005 $26,000,000 Alex Rodriguez New York Yankees
*Ryne Sandberg's 1993 contract was originally for $7,100,000 per year, but he retired before the contract expired and forfeited the back-loaded end of the contract.
[edit] Largest Contracts
The following chart lists the Major League Baseball players who have signed contracts worth $100 million or more (including bonuses, but not including options or buyouts). Four of the top five were signed in the 2000-2001 off-season.
Derek Jeter's, Todd Helton's, Albert Pujols', Vernon Wells', and Alex Rodriguez's contracts were extensions offered by their current teams. Ken Griffey, Jr. was traded by the Seattle Mariners to the Cincinnati Reds on February 10, 2000 and signed a contract extension with the Reds the same day. The remaining contracts were signed via free agency and involved the player moving to a new team.
| Rank | Player | Team | Length of Contract | How signed | Salary |
| 1 | Alex Rodriguez | New York Yankees | 10 years (2008-2018) | Contract extension | $275,000,000 |
| 2 | Alex Rodriguez | Texas Rangers* | 10 years (2001-2010) | Free agency | $252,000,000 |
| 3 | Derek Jeter | New York Yankees | 10 years (2001-2010) | Contract extension | $189,000,000 |
| 4 | Manny Ramírez | Boston Red Sox | 8 years (2001-2008) | Free agency | $160,000,000 |
| 5 | Todd Helton | Colorado Rockies | 11 years (2001-2011) | Contract extension | $141,500,000 |
| 6 | Miguel Cabrera | Detroit Tigers | 8 years (2008-2015) | Contract extension | $152,300,000 |
| 7 | Johan Santana | New York Mets | 6 years (2008-2013) | Contract extension after acquisition from the Minnesota Twins | $137,500,000 |
| 8 | Alfonso Soriano | Chicago Cubs | 8 years (2007-2014) | Free agency | $136,000,000 |
| 9 | Vernon Wells | Toronto Blue Jays | 7 years (2008-2014) | Contract extension | $126,000,000 |
| 10 | Barry Zito | San Francisco Giants | 7 years (2008-2014) | Free agency | $126,000,000 |
| 11 | Mike Hampton | Colorado Rockies* | 8 years (2001-2008) | Free agency | $121,000,000 |
| 12 | Jason Giambi | New York Yankees | 7 years (2002-2008) | Free agency | $120,000,000 |
| 13 | Carlos Beltran | New York Mets | 7 years (2005-2011) | Free agency | $119,000,000 |
| 14 | Ken Griffey, Jr. | Cincinnati Reds | 9 years (2000-2008) | Contract extension after acquisition from the Seattle Mariners | $116,500,000 |
| 15 | Kevin Brown | Los Angeles Dodgers* | 7 years (1999-2005) | Free agency | $105,000,000 |
| 16 | Albert Pujols | St. Louis Cardinals | 7 years (2004-2010) | Contract extension | $100,000,000 |
| 17 | Carlos Lee | Houston Astros | 6 years (2007-2012) | Free agency | $100,000,000 |
| *- no longer plays for team |
[edit] External links
- "The Century in Dollars and Cents", Seattle Post-Intelligencer
