List of highest paid baseball players

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Contents

[edit] Career earnings

The following chart lists the Major League Baseball players who have earned over $100 million total salary over their career (through the end of 2008 and not including bonuses).[1]

  1. $198,413,252 - Alex Rodriguez
  2. $188,245,322 - Barry Bonds
  3. $167,550,019 - Randy Johnson
  4. $162,258,269 - Manny Ramírez
  5. $161,230,000 - Derek Jeter
  6. $154,008,550 - Gary Sheffield
  7. $153,845,000 - Greg Maddux (retired)
  8. $147,353,682 - Ken Griffey, Jr.
  9. $146,259,585 - Pedro Martínez
  10. $144,533,619 - Mike Mussina (retired)
  11. $134,299,000 - Carlos Delgado
  12. $130,890,502 - Kevin Brown (retired)
  13. $130,095,446 - John Smoltz
  14. $128,639,293 - Tom Glavine
  15. $128,134,019 - Jeff Bagwell (retired)
  16. $125,058,996 - Jason Giambi
  17. $124,068,000 - Sammy Sosa (not retired, but was not under contract in 2008)
  18. $123,961,667 - Jim Thome
  19. $122,550,270 - Mike Hampton
  20. $121,001,000 - Roger Clemens
  21. $120,176,002 - Mike Piazza (retired)
  22. $117,552,133 - Chipper Jones
  23. $115,073,932 - Iván Rodríguez
  24. $114,158,000 - Curt Schilling (retired)
  25. $110,363,431 - Larry Walker (retired)
  26. $108,082,416 - Andy Pettitte
  27. $104,634,000 - Frank Thomas
  28. $103,100,001 - Bernie Williams (retired)
  29. $102,433,410 - Andruw Jones
  30. $100,616,066 - Shawn Green (retired)
  31. $100,405,001 - Mo Vaughn (retired)

[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        $ 26,000,000
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

Main article: largest sports 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).

Derek Jeter's, Todd Helton's, Albert Pujols', and Vernon Wells', 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) Free Agency after opting out of previous contract $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 Mark Teixeira New York Yankees 8 years (2009-2016) Free agency $180,000,000
5 CC Sabathia New York Yankees 7 years (2009-2015) Free agency $161,000,000
6 Manny Ramírez Boston Red Sox* 8 years (2001-2008) Free agency $160,000,000
7 Todd Helton Colorado Rockies 11 years (2001-2011) Contract extension $141,500,000
8 Miguel Cabrera Detroit Tigers 8 years (2008-2015) Contract extension $152,300,000
9 Johan Santana New York Mets 6 years (2008-2013) Contract extension after acquisition from the Minnesota Twins $137,500,000
10 Alfonso Soriano Chicago Cubs 8 years (2007-2014) Free agency $136,000,000
11 Vernon Wells Toronto Blue Jays 7 years (2008-2014) Contract extension $126,000,000
12 Barry Zito San Francisco Giants 7 years (2007-2013) Free agency $126,000,000
13 Mike Hampton Colorado Rockies* 8 years (2001-2008) Free agency $121,000,000
14 Jason Giambi New York Yankees* 7 years (2002-2008) Free agency $120,000,000
15 Carlos Beltran New York Mets 7 years (2005-2011) Free agency $119,000,000
16 Ken Griffey, Jr. Cincinnati Reds* 9 years (2000-2008) Contract extension after acquisition from the Seattle Mariners $116,500,000
17 Kevin Brown Los Angeles Dodgers* 7 years (1999-2005) Free agency $105,000,000
18 Albert Pujols St. Louis Cardinals 7 years (2004-2010) Contract extension $100,000,000
19 Carlos Lee Houston Astros 6 years (2007-2012) Free agency $100,000,000
*- no longer plays for team

[edit] References

  1. ^ "Highest Career and Single-season Salaries". http://www.baseball-reference.com/leaders/leaders_salaries.shtml. Retrieved on 2009-01-06. 

[edit] External links

Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_highest_paid_baseball_players"
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