The Biggest Contracts in Sports History
On this page13
- 01Juan Soto — 15 years, $765 million (MLB, NY Mets)
- 02Shohei Ohtani — 10 years, $700 million (MLB, LA Dodgers)
- 03Patrick Mahomes — 8 years, $504.75 million (NFL, Kansas City Chiefs)
- 04Vladimir Guerrero Jr. — 14 years, $500 million (MLB, Toronto Blue Jays)
- 05Mike Trout — 12 years, $426.5 million (MLB, LA Angels)
- 06Mookie Betts — 12 years, $365 million (MLB, LA Dodgers)
- 07Aaron Judge — 9 years, $360 million (MLB, NY Yankees)
- 08Jayson Tatum — 5 years, $314 million (NBA, Boston Celtics)
- 09How we ranked these contracts
- 10Total value vs. average annual value
- 11Why baseball dominates the leaderboard
- 12The soccer question
- 13What to watch next
Ranked by total guaranteed value at signing, stated in the year's nominal dollars. Deferred money is flagged and discounted to present value, because a dollar paid in 2045 is not a dollar today — that adjustment is why Soto's fully paid $765M outranks Ohtani's larger-sounding $700M.
- The record
Juan Soto — 15 years, $765 million (MLB, NY Mets)
Soto's December 2024 free-agent deal is the largest ever signed in team sports by both total value and $51 million average annual value, and it carries something Ohtani's does not: no deferred money. Every dollar is paid as the contract runs, so its real value clears Ohtani's larger headline number. It ranks first outright, not on a technicality.
The structure is aggressive too: a $75 million signing bonus, escalators that can push the package above $800 million, and an opt-out after five years that lets Soto re-enter the market and reset the record again.
Team: NY Mets · Signed: Dec 2024 · AAV: $51M · Deferrals: none · Opt-out: after year 5
- Deferred giant
Shohei Ohtani — 10 years, $700 million (MLB, LA Dodgers)
Ohtani's 2023 deal is the more famous number, but roughly 97% of it is deferred without interest — he takes about $2 million a year now and collects the rest from 2034 through 2043. Discounted to present value, MLB and analysts peg it near $460 million, which is why it sits second behind Soto's fully paid deal despite the bigger sticker price.
Team: LA Dodgers · Signed: Dec 2023 · Deferred: ~97% · Present value: ~$460M
- NFL ceiling
Patrick Mahomes — 8 years, $504.75 million (NFL, Kansas City Chiefs)
Mahomes' original 2020 extension (10 years, $450 million) was the NFL's biggest total ever at the time. Kansas City reworked it in 2026, adding two years and lifting the package to $504.75 million — the first NFL deal to clear $500 million, with the annual value reaching $64 million in 2027.
He is the only non-baseball player near the top, and even so the contract needed a rework and eight years to get there. That gap is structural: NFL money is rarely fully guaranteed up front, so headline totals lag MLB's. See the highest-paid NFL players for how the position market stacks up.
Team: Kansas City Chiefs · Reworked: 2026 · Peak AAV: $64M (2027) · First NFL deal over $500M
- Career lock-in
Vladimir Guerrero Jr. — 14 years, $500 million (MLB, Toronto Blue Jays)
Guerrero's April 2025 extension is the largest contract extension in MLB history — bigger than Soto's or Ohtani's extensions, though smaller than Soto's free-agent total. It ranks below Mahomes here purely on the $4.75 million total gap after the Chiefs' 2026 rework; in fully guaranteed present-day dollars it is arguably stronger than his neighbors on the list.
The deal, which runs through 2039, front-loads a reported $325 million signing bonus rather than deferring money — the modern MLB template Soto also used, and the opposite of Ohtani's approach.
Team: Toronto Blue Jays · Signed: Apr 2025 · Runs through: 2039 · Signing bonus: ~$325M
- The old record
Mike Trout — 12 years, $426.5 million (MLB, LA Angels)
Trout's 2019 extension was the largest contract in North American sports history when signed and held that title until Ohtani's deal four years later. It shows how fast the ceiling has moved: a record total in 2019 now ranks fifth, and every deal above it was signed in 2023 or later.
Team: LA Angels · Signed: 2019 · Was the all-sports record 2019-2023
- Ring value
Mookie Betts — 12 years, $365 million (MLB, LA Dodgers)
Betts signed his extension in 2020 shortly after a trade to the Dodgers, then won titles in 2020 and 2024 — the rare mega-deal that immediately delivered championships. It edges Judge's total by $5 million despite Betts playing a less premium defensive profile, largely because his deal runs three years longer.
Team: LA Dodgers · Signed: 2020 · Titles since: 2020, 2024 · Length: 12 years
- Yankees anchor
Aaron Judge — 9 years, $360 million (MLB, NY Yankees)
Judge bet on himself in 2022, playing out his deal and hitting an AL-record 62 home runs before signing — leverage that turned into $40 million a year, a higher AAV than Betts just above him. His nine-year term is shorter than the other MLB deals near the top, which is why the total lands lower even with the strong annual figure.
Team: NY Yankees · Signed: 2022 · AAV: $40M · 2022: AL-record 62 HR before signing
- NBA cap ceiling
Jayson Tatum — 5 years, $314 million (NBA, Boston Celtics)
Tatum's 2024 supermax is the largest NBA contract by total value, yet it barely cracks this list — proof of how the salary cap limits basketball totals. The NBA caps both length (five years) and annual raises, so even a max deal cannot approach a 15-year baseball contract. Note the AAV split: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander's 2025 extension pays a league-record $71 million a year but totals less because it runs four years. For the full picture, see the most expensive NBA contract.
Team: Boston Celtics · Signed: 2024 · Largest NBA total · Cap-limited to 5 years
Reader interaction
Build your ranking
Drag the entries into the order you think is right — or use the arrows — then submit to see how your list compares with everyone else's.
- Juan Soto — 15 years, $765 million (MLB, NY Mets)
- Shohei Ohtani — 10 years, $700 million (MLB, LA Dodgers)
- Patrick Mahomes — 8 years, $504.75 million (NFL, Kansas City Chiefs)
- Vladimir Guerrero Jr. — 14 years, $500 million (MLB, Toronto Blue Jays)
- Mike Trout — 12 years, $426.5 million (MLB, LA Angels)
- Mookie Betts — 12 years, $365 million (MLB, LA Dodgers)
- Aaron Judge — 9 years, $360 million (MLB, NY Yankees)
- Jayson Tatum — 5 years, $314 million (NBA, Boston Celtics)
Audience ranking
How everyone ranked them
Built from reader rankings using position-based points.
Contract records climb almost every offseason, but the raw number only tells half the story. How the money is structured — guaranteed or not, paid now or deferred for decades — decides what a deal is really worth. This is the full ranked leaderboard, plus the mechanics that separate a headline figure from a real one. All figures are as of the 2025-26 seasons and, where noted, are estimates.
How we ranked these contracts
Entries are sorted by total guaranteed value at signing, in the year’s nominal dollars. Two adjustments matter. First, deferrals: Ohtani’s $700 million is real, but collecting most of it in the 2040s makes it worth far less today, so we flag deferred deals and note their present value. Second, guarantees: NFL headline totals often include money a team can walk away from, so a baseball deal and a football deal at the same sticker price are not equal. We rank by the stated total but call out these gaps in each entry.
Total value vs. average annual value
The leaderboard above sorts by total value, which rewards long contracts. Sort instead by annual pay and different names lead — often stars on shorter, richer-per-year deals.
| Sport | Highest annual value (AAV) | Player |
|---|---|---|
| NBA | ~$71M/yr | Shai Gilgeous-Alexander |
| NFL | $64M/yr (from 2027) | Patrick Mahomes |
| MLB | $51M/yr | Juan Soto |
A short deal can top the AAV table while ranking low on total value, and vice versa. Both are valid ways to read “biggest” — they just answer different questions.
Why baseball dominates the leaderboard
Seven of the top eight are baseball contracts, and the reason is structural, not about star power. MLB deals are fully guaranteed and can stretch past a decade, so one signing locks in nine figures for 12 to 15 years. The NFL rarely guarantees a full contract, which is why Mahomes needed a rework and eight years to clear $500 million. The NBA caps both length and annual raises through its salary system. For the sport-by-sport view, see the highest-paid MLB players and highest-paid NFL players, and for how league caps shape team spending, the NHL salary cap explained.
The soccer question
Global soccer contracts are hard to rank because clubs rarely disclose full terms and much of the pay arrives through image rights and bonuses. Leaked reports valued Lionel Messi’s final Barcelona contract above €500 million across four years, and Cristiano Ronaldo’s Al-Nassr deal has been widely reported at more than $200 million a year — figures that would rival or exceed this table on an annual basis. Because those numbers are estimated rather than officially confirmed, they sit outside the verified team-sports list. The transfer side of the sport is covered in our guide to the most expensive football transfer, and for career totals across all income, see the highest-paid athlete of all time.
What to watch next
The gap between the current record and the next one is usually a single free-agent winter. Soto’s opt-out after year five, a healthy MLB revenue picture, and the NFL’s climbing quarterback market all point the same direction: these totals rise, they rarely fall, and the real skill in reading them is knowing which dollars are guaranteed and which are deferred.
Frequently asked questions
Does Juan Soto's contract have an opt-out or escalators?+
Yes. Soto's deal includes a $75 million signing bonus and escalators that can lift the package above $800 million. It also carries an opt-out after the fifth year, so he can void the remaining decade and return to free agency. If contract values keep climbing, that opt-out gives him a realistic path to break his own record before the current deal ends.
When does Shohei Ohtani actually get his deferred money?+
Ohtani takes home about $2 million per year during the 10-year contract. The remaining roughly $680 million is deferred without interest and paid out in installments from 2034 through 2043, after the deal is over. Deferring the money helped the Dodgers keep present-day payroll lower, which is a big reason the headline $700 million discounts to an estimated $460 million in today's dollars.
Is Patrick Mahomes now the highest-paid NFL player?+
By total value, yes — his reworked deal is the first NFL contract over $500 million. By average annual value the picture is closer: several quarterbacks reset the per-year record after 2020, and Mahomes' figure only jumps to a league-leading $64 million starting in 2027. Total value and annual value are different rankings, and NFL deals move fast enough that the AAV lead changes almost every offseason.
Do these totals include endorsements or off-field income?+
No. Every figure here is contract money paid by the team — salary, bonuses, and guarantees. Endorsements, appearance fees, and investment income are separate and often dwarf the on-field pay for global stars. If you want total earnings across salary and sponsorships, that is a different leaderboard; see our guide to the highest-paid athlete of all time for the all-sources view.
What is the largest NBA contract, and why is it lower than baseball's?+
Jayson Tatum's five-year, $314 million supermax is the biggest NBA deal by total value. It ranks last here because the NBA caps contract length at five years and limits annual raises through its salary system. Baseball has no such caps, so a single MLB signing can guarantee 12 to 15 years. That structural difference, not talent, is why basketball totals sit below the baseball giants.
Are these contracts fully guaranteed if a player is injured or cut?+
MLB and NBA deals are fully guaranteed — the player is owed the money even after an injury or release. NFL contracts are the exception: much of the headline value is not guaranteed and can be voided if a team cuts the player, so the real guaranteed figure is often well below the total. That is the single biggest reason baseball dominates a leaderboard sorted by total value.
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