Major League Baseball Now Has 41 Players With $100 Million Contracts
The Washington Nationals stunned the baseball world when they added to their already-strong pitching staff by giving Max Scherzer a 7-year, $210 million contract. But what is really amazing is just how common these contracts have become.
With Scherzer's contract, there are now 41 players in Major League Baseball with contracts worth at least $100 million according to Michael Ginnitti of Spotrac.com. That is 24 more than the other three major North American sports leagues combined.
To put the disparity in perspective, Ginnitti points out that 24 MLB players in 2015 will make more than LeBron James and his $20.6 million salary this season. Also, Alexander Ovechkin of the Washington Capitals, the NHL's highest-paid players ($9.5 million) would rank just 129th in MLB.