CHART: Mariano Rivera Made More That $160 Million In His Career

Mariano Rivera will go down in baseball history as the greatest closer to ever play the game. That distinction, along with playing for the Yankees and their deep pockets, helped Rivera earn $169.6 million in his career.

That is a lot of money for any player. It is especially grand for a player that worked just 1,283.2 innings in his career. There have been six starting pitchers that have worked more innings in just the last six seasons, led by CC Sabathia, who has thrown 1,369 innings since the start of the 2008 season.

Another way to look at it is that Rivera has been paid $132,000 for every inning he has worked in his career and $260,000 for each of his 652 career saves. Even if we include his illustrious postseason record, he has been paid $119,000 for each inning pitched and $244,000 for each save.

Not a bad way to make a living...