Some guy named Soto from the Washington Nationals turned down 15 years for $440. I realize that is a lot of money, but I guess he is betting on himself not to get injured. He could do fewer years for less money, but is looking at another huge payday later. He is only 23, so he could do a 7 year, then at 30 sign another deal, the price for players would have gone up by then. 440 million, do a Bobby Bonilla type of deal and get paid into your 70's several million a year.

What would you do?
1) Take the 440 as it's offered?
2). Take the 440 deal, but let some of it be deferred into your later years when a lot of ball players have expended their money?
3). Turn down the 440 like Soto did?

He won the HR derby last night so he is riding pretty high right now. I'd take the $440 mil. Never now what tomorrow holds.

Take the money and run. You can invest a sizable portion of that and skate money-worry free for the rest of your days.

He's wanting to be traded to play for a team that has a shot a world series is what his people are saying

I would have signed that contract so fast

The ink in that pen would have burned I signed that so fast. Heck with a world series, I would rather have $440 mil than any world title. Screw that.

He's 23 years old already has one Ring with Washington and wants traded because he knows other teams will pay more. He also won a batting title and two silver slugger awards. For you nonbaseball people I know turning down 440 seems silly but it's good advice.

until he tears an acl, breaks a leg, or needs shoulder surgery and misses a year. he’d still get big $ from someone but it wouldn’t be that big so it is risky.

the $30M/yr is right up there with the most ever. he’s waiting to see what judge gets. yanks offered something similar and he’s waiting them out too.

https://www.sportscasting.com/10-highest-paid-mlb-players-2022/

With that money, properly invested, he’ll probably be able to afford a couple tanks of gas in 7 years.

If you and turn down $440 million dollars then your an idiot,how much more money does a man need?He May get in a car wreck tomorrow and never be able to play again,I just don’t understand the greed these players have.

The baseball salaries are even guaranteed, he gets into the wreck, can't function as good as before, the team is still on the hook.

There will never be enough money for some people, greed is a powerful thing with some people. Like said above how much money is enough, sadly for some people it will never be enough

Perhaps he said you couldn’t pay me enough money to live in D.C.

It's about what the market commands, and not so much greed IMO.

We can't understand the numbers. We're mere peons.

But they're looking at $30M or $40M a year for 162 games plus spring training plus the travel and staying in top form and everything else for a team in a league that makes $10 Billion a year.

It's no different than in the NFL, which makes more than $11 Billion. Hell, I'd want double in the NFL considering the shortness of the career and amount of physical-mental and probably emotional beating it puts on the body.

The market commands and dictates the salaries. The agents and players do the dance. Without the players, there are no games. I don't blame them a bit for wanting and getting as much as they can.

Well said Clem.

Here's another thing, or things:

Let's say Benito Baseballio makes $40 million a year for 8 or 10 years.

Taxes - depending on his home state, he pays a LOT of taxes. When he travels to another state, he may have to pay work taxes there. Nothing new. Happens in every league.

Agents - they usually have more than one, and good agents get I think maybe 10 percent of a contract (maybe more) and retainer plus expenses. That adds up.

PR people, nutritionists, trainers, others -- Being a celebrity is a big deal so they have to have people who deal with people, keep them eating right, trainers for workouts, etc. Because of the unions in the leagues, players don't always have access to or want to go to the team facilities. it's not like high school or college where Joe and Jill go to work out in the off-season.

Houses, cars, things -- part of all that is the lifestyle, and part of it is buying stuff that can be written off as tax breaks -- "I have a helocopter and G6 and pilots on standby for work"

Baby mamas -- probably has one or two, along with others to pay to keep happy or be quiet or both

Retirement - a good agent or accountant will have tax shelters home and abroad to spread out the hit now and years from now

Lifespan - Benito may be 28 or so and in his prime. Signing a 10-year deal ... he retires when he's 38, 40 unless he gets that last 2- or 3-year extension from some club wanting to pay really stupid money for his name value (unless he's injured or sucks); Pujols this year and last is an example. After retirement, Benito Baseballio will have 40-50 years remaining. All the stuff above - taxes, agents, fees, dumb purchases, smart investments -- will have to stretch out. Some do it well, some are idiots about it and spend stupidly or get robbed by unscrupulous agents-attorneys-others


After all that, they still have a sh*tpile of money from that $40M a year. But it's not like they have a check for $40 million and keep every bit of it.


One other thing is the agents and players don't want to take less than X-level for performance or position. Reworking a contract to take less money, like some NFL quarterbacks do now and then to free up cap space, sounds great. Agents and other players likely hate that because if it affects the average salary line, it affects everyone. That's one reason all the contracts are spread out, deferred, incentivized and other weird chit we don't understand. So they usually try to get the most they can.

I think this is what I would do. Seven years, whatever I could get for those, and hope to have a WS ring by the time I start negotiations for my final contract or extension or free agency.

These 10- and 15-year deals never pan out. The player always wants a trade or the teams trade them for 38 players and a bag of popcorn.

Just saw this from Bob Nightengale on Twitter:

Remember when the #Athletics drafted Kyler Murray with their No. 1 pick in 2018, trying to convince him to choose #MLB over the #NFL?
Well, he just signed a 5-year, $230.5M extension with Arizona Cardinals.
He’ll earn an average of $46.1M a year.
The A's entire payroll is $48.5M.


Get it while you can.

the A’s are an outlier and low budget. sign the mlb rookie contract just like an nfl rookie contract then if you’re good enough, go get the big mlb free agent money from the yanks or dodgers and play twice as long without risking head injuries. jmo

https://www.spotrac.com/mlb/payroll/