Getty Manny Machado has signed with the San Diego Padres.
Manny Machado has agreed to a 10-year, $300 million contract with the Padres, per MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand. ESPN’s Jeff Passan reported it is the biggest contract in American sports history.
“Manny Machado’s deal, as @Feinsand first reported, is for 10 years and $300 million with an opt-out after the fifth season. A monumental deal — the single biggest free agent contract in American sports history. And now every eye in baseball turns to Bryce Harper. His move,” Passan tweeted.
While Machado’s 2019 salary has not been announced, Machado’s average salary is $30 million over the life of the contract. This is quite a pay raise from his $16 million salary from last season, per Spotrac. According to Yahoo Sports’ Tim Brown, Machado will have an opportunity to opt out of his deal after the fifth year.
Machado was traded to the Dodgers but his stay in Los Angeles was short lived. Machado spoke with Yes Network back in November about what he was looking for in free agency.
“At the end of the day, I’ll consider every situation carefully,” Machado noted to Yes Network. “I definitely want to be in a place where I can win long term and be a part of World Series teams for many years to come. It’s way too early to tell what else might play a part, but I’m excited and looking forward to it.”
While no one questions Machado’s talent, there is skepticism about the Padres’ long-term investment in the shortstop. Brown detailed why some clubs were leery of signing Machado to this sort of a contract.
Those weeks brought speculation Machado’s market could be impacted. A significant talent and among the game’s brighter stars, Machado would seek among the biggest paydays in baseball history, and on the postseason stage he was viewed as a wonderful player, and also disinterested and petulant. As one National League general manager explained, Machado’s bona fides – a four-time All Star who averaged 35 home runs over the past four seasons, a defender capable of playing an up-the-middle position, all at 26 years old – might live large in baseball operations departments, but might not be enough to satisfy an owner seeking a face and conscience of the franchise in return for his investment.
Machado’s Contract Size & Its Historic Significance Is Being Debated
Calling Machado’s contract the largest in history is a bit of semantics. Thanks to inflation the salaries in most professions, including an MLB baseball player, are rising. Comparing Machado’s deal with another historic contract (at the time) like Alex Rodriguez is not exactly apples to apples.
“You can call this contract the biggest contract or you can actually convert old contracts to today’s dollars (as @craigjedwards did) & see that Manny Machado’s contract today is the tenth-biggest in baseball history,” The Athletic’s Eno Sarris tweeted.
Fan Graphs Craig Edwards reported Rodriguez’s $275 million deal would be worth an estimated $592 million by 2019 financial standards.