List of largest sports contracts

The following is a list of the largest sports contracts. These figures include signing bonuses but exclude options, buyouts, and endorsement deals. This list does not reflect the highest annual salaries or career earnings, only the largest contracts and thus is limited to athletes in team sports and auto racing. Athletes in individual sports, such as golf, tennis, and boxing are not employed by a team and usually earn money primarily through event winnings. This list also does not necessarily reflect actual money collected by the athletes, since some contracts are eventually terminated (usually due to an athlete either retiring or invoking his opt-out clause). Included in this list are contracts totaling at least $100 million USD.

Largest sports contracts

Rank	Player	Team	Sport	Length of contract	Contract value (USD)	Average per year (USD)	Average per game5 (USD)	Ref
01	Alex Rodriguez	New York Yankees	Baseball	10 years (2008-2017)	$275,000,000	$27,500,000	$169,753.09	[1]
02	Alex Rodriguez1	Texas Rangers	Baseball	10 years (2001-2010)	$249,000,000	$25,200,000	$155,555.56	[2]
03	Fernando Alonso	Ferrari	Auto racing	05 years (2011-2016)	$214,000,000	$42,800,000	$2,183,673.46	[3]
04	Derek Jeter	New York Yankees	Baseball	10 years (2001-2010)	$189,000,000	$18,900,000	$116,666.67	[4]
05	Joe Mauer	Minnesota Twins	Baseball	08 years (2011-2018)	$184,000,000	$23,000,000	$141,975.31	[5]
06	Mark Teixeira	New York Yankees	Baseball	08 years (2009-2016)	$180,000,000	$22,500,000	$138,888.89	[6]
07	CC Sabathia	New York Yankees	Baseball	07 years (2009-2015)	$161,000,000	$23,000,000	$141,975.31	[7]
08 (tie)	Manny Ramírez	Boston Red Sox*	Baseball	08 years (2001-2008)	$160,000,000	$20,000,000	$123,456.79	[8]
08 (tie)	Fernando Alonso2	McLaren*	Auto racing	04 years (2007-2010)	$160,000,000	$40,000,000	$2,352,941.17	[9]
10	Troy Tulowitzki	Colorado Rockies	Baseball	10 years (2011-2020)	$157,750,000	$15,775,000	$97,376.54	[10]
11	Adrián González	Boston Red Sox	Baseball	07 years (2012-2018)	$154,000,000	$22,000,000	$135,802.67	[11]
12	Kimi Räikkönen	Ferrari	Auto racing	03 years (2007-2009)	$153,000,000	$51,000,000	$2,942,307.69	[12]
13	Miguel Cabrera	Detroit Tigers	Baseball	08 years (2008-2015)	$152,300,000	$19,037,500	$117,515.43	[13]
14	Todd Helton	Colorado Rockies	Baseball	11 years (2001-2011)	$151,500,000	$13,772,727	$85,016.83	[14]
15	Carl Crawford	Boston Red Sox	Baseball	07 years (2011-2017)	$142,000,000	$20,285,714	$125,220.46	[15]
16	Johan Santana	New York Mets	Baseball	06 years (2008-2013)	$137,500,000	$22,916,667	$141,460.91	[16]
17	Kobe Bryant	Los Angeles Lakers	Basketball	07 years (2004-2011)	$136,400,000	$19,485,714	$237,630.66	[17]
18	Alfonso Soriano	Chicago Cubs	Baseball	08 years (2007-2014)	$136,000,000	$17,000,000	$104,938.27	[18]
19	Michael Vick3	Atlanta Falcons*	American football	10 years (2005-2014)	$130,000,000	$13,000,000	$812,500.00	[19]
20	Jermaine O'Neal	Indiana Pacers*	Basketball	07 years (2003-2010)	$126,558,000	$18,079,714	$220,484.32	[20]
21 (tie)	Kevin Garnett	Minnesota Timberwolves*	Basketball	06 years (1999-2005)	$126,000,000	$21,000,000	$256,097.56	[21]
21 (tie)	Barry Zito	San Francisco Giants	Baseball	07 years (2007-2013)	$126,000,000	$18,000,000	$111,111.11	[22]
21 (tie)	Vernon Wells	Toronto Blue Jays*	Baseball	07 years (2008-2014)	$126,000,000	$18,000,000	$111,111.11	[23]
21 (tie)	Rashard Lewis	Orlando Magic*	Basketball	06 years (2007-2013)	$126,000,000	$21,000,000	$256,097.56	[24]
21 (tie)	Jayson Werth	Washington Nationals	Baseball	07 years (2011-2017)	$126,000,000	$18,000,000	$111,111.11	[25]
26	Ryan Howard	Philadelphia Phillies	Baseball	05 years (2013-2017)	$125,000,000	$25,000,000	$154,320.99	[26]
27 (tie)	Michael Schumacher	Ferrari	Auto racing	04 years (1996-1999)	$124,000,000	$31,000,000	$1,907,692.30	[27]
27 (tie)	Alexander Ovechkin	Washington Capitals	Ice hockey	13 years (2008-2021)	$124,000,000	$9,538,461	$116,322.70	[28]
29	Chris Webber	Sacramento Kings*	Basketball	07 years (2001-2007)	$122,718,750	$17,531,250	$213,795.73	[29]
30	Tim Duncan	San Antonio Spurs	Basketball	07 years (2003-2010)	$122,007,704	$17,429,672	$212,556.98	[30]
31	Mike Hampton	Colorado Rockies*	Baseball	08 years (2001-2008)	$121,000,000	$15,125,000	$93,364.20	[31]
32 (tie)	Shaquille O'Neal	Los Angeles Lakers*	Basketball	07 years (1996-2003)	$120,000,000	$17,142,857	$209,059.23	[32]
32 (tie)	Jason Giambi	New York Yankees*	Baseball	07 years (2002-2008)	$120,000,000	$17,142,857	$105,820.10	[33]
32 (tie)	Matt Holliday	St. Louis Cardinals	Baseball	07 years (2010-2016)	$120,000,000	$17,142,857	$105,820.10	[34]
32 (tie)	Cliff Lee	Philadelphia Phillies	Baseball	05 years (2011-2016)	$120,000,000	$24,000,000	$148,148.15	[35]
32 (tie)	Larry Fitzgerald	Arizona Cardinals	American Football	08 years (2011-2018)	$120,000,000	$15,000,000	$937,500.00	[36]
37	Carson Palmer	Cincinnati Bengals*	American football	09 years (2006-2014)	$119,750,000‡	$13,305,555	$831,597.19	[37]
38	Carlos Beltrán	New York Mets*	Baseball	07 years (2005-2011)	$119,000,000	$17,000,000	$104,938.27	[38]
39	Ken Griffey, Jr.	Cincinnati Reds*	Baseball	09 years (2000-2008)	$116,500,000	$12,944,444	$79,903.98	[39]
40	Donovan McNabb	Philadelphia Eagles*	American football	12 years (2002-2013)	$115,000,000‡	$9,583,333	$598,958.31	[40]
41	Gilbert Arenas	Washington Wizards*	Basketball	06 Years (2008-2013)	$111,000,000	$18,500,000	$225,609.76	[41]
42	LeBron James	Miami Heat	Basketball	06 years (2010-2016)	$109,837,500	$18,306,250	$223,246.95	[42]
43	Kevin BrownR	Los Angeles Dodgers*	Baseball	07 years (1999-2005)	$105,000,000	$15,000,000	$92,592.59	[43]
44	Jason Kidd	New Jersey Nets*	Basketball	06 years (2003-2009)	$103,572,000	$17,262,000	$210,512.20	[44]
45	Ben Roethlisberger	Pittsburgh Steelers	American Football	08 years (2008-2015)	$102,000,000‡	$12,750,000	$796,875.00	[45]
46 (tie)	Albert Pujols	St. Louis Cardinals	Baseball	07 years (2004-2010)	$100,000,000	$14,285,714	$88,183.42	[46]
46 (tie)	Carlos Lee	Houston Astros	Baseball	06 years (2007-2012)	$100,000,000	$16,666,666	$102,880.65	[47]
46 (tie)	Shaquille O'Neal	Miami Heat*	Basketball	05 years (2005-2010)	$100,000,000	$20,000,000	$243,902.44	[48]
46 (tie)	Brett Favre4	Green Bay Packers*	American Football	10 years (2001-2010)	$100,000,000	$10,000,000	$625,000.00	[49]
46 (tie)	Albert Haynesworth	Washington Redskins*	American Football	07 years (2009-2016)	$100,000,000‡	$14,285,714	$892,857.13	[50]
46 (tie)	Ilya Kovalchuk	New Jersey Devils	Ice Hockey	15 years (2010-2025)	$100,000,000	$6,666,667	$81,300.81	[51]
46 (tie)	Michael Vick	Philadelphia Eagles	American Football	06 years (2011-2016)	$100,000,000‡	$16,666,667	$1,041,667.00	[52]

¹ - Rodriguez opted out of this contract after the 2007 season
² - Alonso opted out of this contract after the 2007 season
³ - Vick's contract was terminated by the Atlanta Falcons after the 2006 season
⁴ - Favre was traded by the Green Bay Packers to the New York Jets after the 2008 season. He was unconditionally released from his contract by the Jets after the 2009 season.
⁵ - Based on regular season games only (excludes any playoff games), also in baseball, starting pitchers usually pitch every five games, resting during the interval between starts.
^R - retired
* - no longer on team
‡ - entirety of contract salary not guaranteed

Notes

• Contracts in the NFL are often not guaranteed, meaning that players who retire, or who are cut, do not receive their contracted salaries after their release from the team.
• NBA and NHL seasons span two calendar years.
• Michael Vick was suspended by the NFL in 2007. The Atlanta Falcons were unsuccessful in a civil legal process to attempt to recoup $20 million of the $100 million in bonuses paid to Vick under terms of his contract extension.
• During his contract years, Michael Schumacher had significantly higher annual earnings than the athletes on this list with larger total contracts. On top of his $31 million per year paid by the Ferrari team, which alone ranked as the highest annual earnings at the time, he also earned a significant amount more per year from race winnings.
• David Beckham signed a 5-year deal with MLS soccer team Los Angeles Galaxy that was worth a reported $251 million,^[1] but that figure included commercial endorsements; only $5 million a year of that figure is salary from the club, while the rest will come via existing endorsements and profit sharing with the club.^[2][3][4]
• Lewis Hamilton signed a contract with McLaren Mercedes worth at least ₤70 million ($138 million USD) over 5 seasons (2008-2012). However, no official contract details have been released by the team.^[5]
• In 2010, the NHL rejected a 17-year, $102 million contract between the New Jersey Devils and Ilya Kovalchuk, saying that the contract was "a circumvention of the collective bargaining agreement." The later years of the contract would have paid Kovalchuk only $550,000 per year, which lowered the average value per year of the contract. (The NHL's salary cap is based on the average value per year.) ^[6]

References

1. ^ ABC News. Beckham Looking Forward to U.S. Challenge. January 12, 2007. Retrieved January 26, 2008.
2. ^ "Entertainment value". Article on si.com. 2007-01-11. http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2007/soccer/01/11/bc.soccer.beckham.contract/. Retrieved 11 January 2007. 
3. ^ Chang, Jen. "Debunking the myths behind Beckham's contract". ESPN Soccernet. http://soccernet.espn.go.com/columns/story?id=399597&root=mls&cc=5901. Retrieved 12 January 2007. 
4. ^ « « The World's Highest-Paid Athletes » », peoplestar.co.uk, 2011-02-23.
5. ^ Gorman, Edward (11 March 2008). "Lewis Hamilton saving for a rainy day". The Times (London). http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/sport/formula_1/article3523351.ece. Retrieved 10 March 2008. 
6. ^ Caldwell, Dave (2010-07-21). "N.H.L. Rejects Long-Term Contract for Devils' Ilya Kovalchuk". The New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/2010/07/22/sports/hockey/22devils.html?scp=2&sq=ilya%20kovalchuk&st=cse. 

See also

• Gaius Appuleius Diocles
• List of highest paid baseball players
• Transfer (association football), contains a list of most expensive transfers in association football