Shohei Ohtani surpasses biggest active contracts in MLB, NFL, NBA, NHL

Shohei Ohtani is getting paid.

The two-way star announced on Saturday that he will sign with the Los Angeles Dodgers. Though the details of his contract are not public yet, ESPN’s Jeff Passan reported it will be a 10-year, $700 million deal, making Ohtani the highest-paid player in North American sports history.

Ohtani has been named AL MVP twice, including unanimously last season when he had a .304 batting average plus 44 home runs and 95 RBIs. He also appeared in 23 games as a starter with a 10-5 record and 3.14 ERA. Ohtani had at least 30 home runs and 90 RBIs in his last three seasons with the Los Angeles Angels.

Ohtani’s deal shatters the previous record for the most expensive contract in the active “Big Four” American sports — an honor that was held by Ohtani’s former Angels teammate Mike Trout. Here’s how the contract stacks up with others throughout sports.

MLB

Shohei Ohtani, Los Angeles Dodgers: 10 years, $700 million

Year signed: 2023

Entering free agency, Ohtani’s market ranged from $500 to $600 million. The Dodgers hit it out of the park with their offer for arguably baseball’s best player. Ohtani will not pitch in the upcoming season because of an elbow injury, but will likely be in the mix to make the playoffs for the first time in his career.

Mike Trout, Los Angeles Angels: 12 years, $426.5 million

Year signed: 2019

Trout has been either the best player in baseball or close to it for the better part of a decade, and the Angels rewarded him accordingly. At the time he signed this deal, it was the richest contract in professional American sports. Though he’s been hampered by injuries, he’s played 423 games and won the 2019 MVP since the signing.

Mookie Betts, Los Angeles Dodgers: 12 years, $365 million

Year signed: 2021

The Dodgers secured Betts until the 2030s shortly after acquiring him in a trade from the Boston Red Sox. He’s had two top-five MVP finishes and a World Series win since then.

Aaron Judge, New York Yankees: 9 years, $360 million

Year signed: 2022

The Yankees ensured their 6-foot-7 MVP slugger remained in pinstripes after he mashed an American League-record 62 homers while hitting .311/.425/.686 with an AL-leading 131 RBIs in 2022.

Francisco Lindor, New York Mets: 10 years, $341 million

Year signed: 2021

The Mets signed Lindor to this monster deal shortly before Opening Day 2021, and though he had a disappointing performance that season, he rebounded nicely in 2022 as the team won 101 games. Lindor hit a home run in the postseason, but the Mets fell to the Padres 2-1 in their National League wild-card series.

Fernando Tatis Jr., San Diego Padres: 14 years, $340 million

Year signed: 2021

Tatis had a huge season after signing his contract, hitting a league-leading 42 home runs and putting up 6.6 WAR in 2021. Injuries and a suspension for performance-enhancing drugs caused him to miss the entirety of the 2022 campaign, however.

NFL (by practical guaranteed money)

Joe Burrow, Cincinnati Bengals: 5 years, $275 million (79.6% of total contract)

Year signed: 2023

Burrow led the Bengals to a 12-4 record in 2022-23. He threw for 35 touchdowns to go with 12 interceptions, passed for 4475 yards and completed 68.3% of his passes along the way. His contract has $219 million guaranteed.

Nick Bosa, San Francisco 49ers: 5 years, $170 million (72.1% of total contract)

Year signed: 2023

Bosa earned the Defensive Player of the Year award, his first All-Pro selection and third Pro Bowl berth by posting a league-leading 18.5 sacks, 51 tackles, two forced fumbles and 58 quarterback pressures (third in the NFL) the season prior to signing his big deal.

Read more: Source: 49ers, Bosa reach 5-yr., $170M extension

His contract includes 122.5 million guaranteed, making him the highest-paid non-quarterback in NFL history. His brother, Joey Bosa, holds the No.2 spot among highest paid defenders (by total guaranteed money) with a $102 million contract.

Justin Herbert, Los Angeles Chargers: 5 years, $262.5 million (83.3% of total contract)

Year signed: 2023

Herbert was selected with the sixth overall pick in 2020, and in the 2022 season, he led the Chargers to their first playoff appearance in four years.

Read more:

His 14,089 passing yards and 1,316 career passes are the most through a quarterback’s first three NFL seasons. He was slated to play on the fourth year of his rookie deal for $4.23 million. Instead, his average annual salary jumped up to $52.5 million, the highest in NFL history.

Lamar Jackson, Baltimore Ravens: 5 years, $260 million (71.1% of total contract)

Year signed: 2023

Jackson was the second unanimous selection as NFL MVP in his first full season. He represented himself in contract negotiations, which went on for 27 months.

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Jalen Hurts, Philadelphia Eagles: 5 years, $255 million (70.3% of total contract)

Year signed: 2023

Hurts, who led the Eagles to a Super Bowl LVII berth, threw for 3,701 yards with 22 touchdowns and rushed for 760 yards and 13 scores.

He was lined up to play the final year of his rookie deal, which included a base salary of $4.2 million. His extension, which includes the first no-trade clause in franchise history, will be about $51 million per year.

Read more:

Deshaun Watson, Cleveland Browns: 5 years, $230 million (100% of total contract)

Year signed: 2022

Watson’s contract is one of the largest in NFL history, but his tenure with the Browns has been marred by an 11-game suspension for violating the NFL’s personal conduct policy by committing sexual assault, as defined by the league. He threw for 7 touchdowns against 5 interceptions in six 2022 starts.

Kyler Murray, Arizona Cardinals: 5 years, $189.5 million (82.2% of total contract)

Year signed: 2022

While Murray played well in the first year of his big extension, throwing for 2,368 yards at a 66.4% completion rate and tossing 14 touchdowns and seven interceptions, the Cardinals went 4-13 in 2022 — with Murray’s season ending early due to injury.

Russell Wilson, Denver Broncos: 5 years, $161 million (66.4% of total contract)

Year signed: 2022

This might go down as one of the worst trades and contracts in NFL history if the first year of Wilson’s deal is any indicator. He barely completing 60% of his passes and threw just 16 touchdowns as the Broncos missed the playoffs.

Aaron Rodgers, Green Bay Packers: 3 years, $150.8 million (100% of total contract)

Year signed: 2022

Rodgers’ deal makes him one of the highest paid athletes in the world on an annual basis. The star quarterback now plies his trade in New York though, as the Jets traded for him following a lackluster season from the Packers.

Josh Allen, Buffalo Bills: 6 years, $150 million (58.1% of total contract)

Year signed: 2021

The Bills haven’t had a young quarterback like Allen in a very, very long time. He’s thrown for 9306 yards and 74 touchdowns over the past two years, with 1525 yards and 14 touchdowns on the ground to go along with that.

NBA

Jaylen Brown, Boston Celtics: 5 years, $304 million

Year signed: 2023

Brown averaged 26.6 points per game last season and alongside Jayson Tatum has helped lead the Celtics to three of the last four Eastern Conference Finals.

Nikola Jokic, Denver Nuggets: 5 years, $272 million

Year signed: 2022

The reigning NBA Finals MVP, Jokic signed a max extension with the Nuggets in 2022 that, until Brown’s deal, was the largest contract in NBA history.

Bradley Beal, Washington Wizards: 5 years, $251 million

Year signed: 2022

After declining an option to become a free agent in 2022, Beal signed a max contract to remain with the Wizards for the next five seasons. His time in Washington under the extension proved short-lived, however, as he was dealt to the Phoenix Suns this offseason.

Giannis Antetokounmpo, Milwaukee Bucks: 5 years, $228.2 million

Year signed: 2021

At the time, this was the largest contract in NBA history, but it was well worth it for the Bucks. Antetokounmpo led them to a title and was named Finals MVP in 2020-21. He’s only gotten better since then and averaged over 30 points per game for the first time ever last season.

Devin Booker, Phoenix Suns: 4 years, $224 million

Year signed: 2022

This season, Booker led the Suns to a franchise-record 18-game winning streak, finished at 64-18 and overcame an injury to lead the team to the Western Conference semifinals before losing to the Mavericks in seven games.

Karl-Anthony Towns, Minnesota Timberwolves: 4 years, $224 million

Year signed: 2022

Towns scored a Timberwolves-record 60 points last season while leading the team to their first playoff appearance in four seasons.

NHL

Shea Weber, Nashville Predators: 14 years, $110 million

Year signed: 2012

This is a bit of an odd situation — despite a distinguished career and five years remaining on his lengthy contract, Weber has been plagued by injuries and hasn’t played since the 2020-21 season. It’s quite possible that he’ll never play in the NHL again.

Sidney Crosby, Pittsburgh Penguins: 12 years, $104.4 million

Year signed: 2013

Sid the Kid won’t be a free agent until his age-38 season, but he’s still producing for the Penguins. He was 10th in the league in points in 2021-22 and ended 2022-23 in 16th.