28 athletes have signed contracts worth $250 million or more here they all are
- Jaylen Brown and Justin Herbert are the newest members of the $250 million contract club.
- Alex Rodriguez, Lionel Messi, and Manny Machado are the only athletes so far to join the club twice.
This week, the NBA's Jaylen Brown and the NFL's Justin Herbert joined one of the most exclusive clubs in sports. They are both now part of the elite fraternity of athletes who have signed a single contract worth at least $250 million.
Brown signed a five-year, $304 million contract with the Boston Celtics, the largest in NBA history. Herbert put his name to a deal with the San Diego Chargers worth $262.5 million over five years.
They are the 27th and 28th members of the club, coming on the heels of soccer legend Lionel Messi joining the club for a second time when he signed with Inter Miami of MLS.
Below, we take a look at all the athletes who have signed a $250 million contract or larger, a list dominated by MLB players and NFL quarterbacks.
1. Lionel Messi, Barcelona FC — $674 million
Sport: Soccer (La Liga in Spain)
Year signed: 2017
Length of the contract: 5 years
Unlike North American sports, it is often difficult to pin down the exact details of contracts for European athletes. It is not always clear how much of the money comes directly from the club and how much is licensing and likeness earnings, which are often built into the contract. But in the case of Messi, it is believed that his contract with Barça is the largest in sports history.
Messi also recently signed with Inter Miami of MLS. We don't know the full details, but it will likely exceed $250 million, considering he will get a share of Apple TV's MLS profits and eventually receive an ownership stake in the club.
2. Cristiano Ronaldo, Al Nassr — $518 million
Sport: Soccer (Saudi Pro League in Saudi Arabia)
Year signed: 2022
Length of the contract: 2.5 years
Reports indicated that Ronaldo moved to Saudi Arabia on a deal worth about $207 million over 2.5 years. A big chunk of that likely comes from endorsements arranged by the club. This was one of the latest moves by Saudi Arabia to become a bigger player in the world of sports.
3. Patrick Mahomes, Kansas City Chiefs — $450 million
Sport: Football (NFL in US)
Year signed: 2020
Length of the contract: 10 years
NFL contracts are also notoriously difficult to truly value but for a different reason than soccer. The biggest contracts rarely live to see the end as they are often renegotiated to clear up salary space for other players. They are also often not fully guaranteed, which means a team could cut a player mid-contract and not have to pay the full amount. But in the case of Mahomes, he signed the largest contract in North American sports history, and it is almost fully guaranteed.
4. Mike Trout, Los Angeles Angels — $427 million
Sport: Baseball (MLB in North America)
Year signed: 2019
Length of the contract: 12 years
Before Mahomes' new deal, Trout had the record for the largest contract in North American sports history. It was the first to exceed $350 million.
5. Mookie Betts, Los Angeles Dodgers — $365 million
Sport: Baseball (MLB in North America)
Year signed: 2020
Length of the contract: 12 years
Betts signed his large contract with the Dodgers after failing to reach a deal with the Boston Red Sox, who eventually traded him to the west coast.
6. Canelo Alvarez, DAZN — $365 million
Sport: Boxing (Sports streaming service DAZN)
Year signed: 2018
Length of the contract: 5 years
In one of the more unusual large contracts in sports history, sports streaming service DAZN signed Alvarez to exclusively air all his fights for five years.
7. Aaron Judge, New York Yankees — $360 million
Sport: Baseball (MLB in North America)
Year signed: 2022
Length of the contract: 9 years
Judge was a free agent and is believed to have turned down a larger offer from the San Diego Padres worth $400 million to remain with the Yankees.
8. Manny Machado, San Diego Padres — $350 million
Sport: Baseball (MLB in North America)
Year signed: 2023
Length of the contract: 11 years
Technically, this was the second contract Machado signed worth over $250 million. When he first joined the Padres in 2019, he signed a nine-year, $300 million contract. However, he had the option to opt out of the deal early, leading to the more recent contract.
9. Francisco Lindor, New York Mets — $341 million
Sport: Baseball (MLB in North America)
Year signed: 2021
Length of the contract: 10 years
While the contract was just the third-largest in MLB history when it was signed, his $21 million signing bonus and $43 million in total earnings in 2022 (salary and signing bonus) were both MLB records.
10. Fernando Tatis, Jr, San Diego Padres — $340 million
Sport: Baseball (MLB in North America)
Year signed: 2021
Length of the contract: 14 years
Tatis is the second member of the Padres on this list, joining Machado, who has signed a pair of contracts worth over $250 million. And keep in mind that it is believed that Judge turned down a $400 million offer from the Padres before signing his deal with the Yankees.
11. Bryce Harper, Philadelphia Phillies — $330 million
Sport: Baseball (MLB in North America)
Year signed: 2019
Length of the contract: 13 years
Before signing with the Phillies, Harper reportedly rejected a $300 million offer to remain with the Nationals.
12. Giancarlo Stanton, Miami Marlins — $325 million
Sport: Baseball (MLB in North America)
Year signed: 2014
Length of the contract: 13 years
When Stanton signed the deal with the Marlins, it was the largest in North American sports history. However, he only spent three years with the club after signing the deal, as he was eventually traded to the New York Yankees. He did have the option to void the last seven years and $218 million in 2020 but chose to opt in and stay with the Bronx Bombers.
13. Corey Seager, Texas Rangers — $325 million
Sport: Baseball (MLB in North America)
Year signed: 2021
Length of the contract: 10 years
The shortstop signed his big deal with the Rangers after spending the first seven years of his career with the Dodgers.
14. Gerrit Cole, New York Yankees — $324 million
Sport: Baseball (MLB in North America)
Year signed: 2019
Length of the contract: 9 years
The free agent contract signed by Cole with the Yankees was the largest ever given to a pitcher.
15. Rafael Devers, Boston Red Sox — $314 million
Sport: Baseball (MLB in North America)
Year signed: 2023
Length of the contract: 10 years
After the Red Sox traded Betts to the Dodgers and lost shortstop Xander Bogaerts to the Padres in free agency, they finally landed a star player on a long-term deal with Devers.
16. Jaylen Brown, Boston Celtics — $304 million
Sport: Basketball (NBA in North America)
Year signed: 2023
Length of the contract: 5 years
Brown signed the "supermax" contract this offseason, the largest in NBA history.
17. Trea Turner, Philadelphia Phillies — $300 million
Sport: Baseball (MLB in North America)
Year signed: 2022
Length of the contract: 11 years
Turner signed a free-agent deal with the Phillies after spending 1.5 seasons with the Dodgers. The Dodgers gave up four players for Turner pitcher Max Scherzer in 2021, but failed to reach the World Series in either season.
18. Xander Bogaerts, San Diego Padres — $280 million
Sport: Baseball (MLB in North America)
Year signed: 2022
Length of the contract: 11 years
Yet another player from the Padres on this list, the third. That is a big reason why the Padres have the third-largest payroll in MLB, trailing only the two New York clubs, the Yankees and Mets.
19. Nolan Arenado, Colorado Rockies — $260 million
Sport: Baseball (MLB in North America)
Year signed: 2019
Length of the contract: 8 years
Arenado originally signed his contract with the Rockies but was traded to the St. Louis Cardinals after just two seasons. Following the 2022 season, Arenado opted into the remaining five years and $144 million on the deal.
20. Nikola Jokić, Denver Nuggets — $276 million
Sport: Basketball (NBA in North America)
Year signed: 2022
Length of the contract: 5 years
Before Jaylen Brown's contract with the Celtics, this was the largest in NBA history.
21. Alex Rodriguez, New York Yankees — $275 million
Sport: Baseball (MLB in North America)
Year signed: 2007
Length of the contract: 10 years
This was the second $250+ million contract signed by A-Rod, who signed the first in sports history with the Texas Rangers in 2000. That 10-year, $252 million deal was only with the Rangers for three years before he was traded to the Yankees. Between the two contracts, the Yankees eventually paid Rodriguez $308 million in salary.
22. Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing — $275 million
Sport: Formula One
Year signed: 2022
Length of the contract: 5 years
Like most athletes based in Europe, it can be difficult to pin down the exact details for the contracts of F1 drivers. However, the current deal for the two-time (soon to be three-time) champion is believed to be more than $53 million per year over five years, with estimates putting it at $275 million total.
23. Neymar, Paris Saint-Germain — $265 million
Sport: Soccer (Ligue 1 in France)
Year signed: 2017
Length of the contract: 5 years
Neymar became the highest-paid footballer in the world when he signed his contract with PSG, with an annual salary of $53 million. The club also had to pay a record $263 million transfer to Barcelona FC just for the rights to sign him.
24. Justin Herbert, Los Angeles Chargers — $263 million
Sport: Football (NFL in US)
Year signed: 2023
Length of the contract: 5 years
The contract includes $218 million guaranteed, the second-largest total in NFL history.
25. Lamar Jackson, Baltimore Ravens — $260 million
Sport: Football (NFL in US)
Year signed: 2023
Length of the contract: 5 years
The $52 million average annual salary was the highest in the NFL when Jackson signed the deal earlier this year. However, it was surpassed by Herbert's contract at $52.5 million.
26. Josh Allen, Buffalo Bills — $258 million
Sport: Football (NFL in US)
Year signed: 2021
Length of the contract: 6 years
In the sports world, the total value of a contract is often more about where it ranks among your peers than the actual dollars. For example, Allen signed this deal for $258 million in 2021. That was surpassed by Lamar Jackson earlier this year by $2 million. Herbert then signed a deal with $2 million more than that.
27. Jalen Hurts, Philadelphia Eagles — $255 million
Sport: Football (NFL in US)
Year signed: 2023
Length of the contract: 5 years
While this contract is only $8 million behind the total value of Justin Herbert's new deal, the two contracts are worlds apart in terms of guaranteed value. Herbert got $218 million guaranteed, while Hurts is only fully guaranteed to get $110 million. However, that number does go up to $179 million if he is injured and can no longer play.
28. Bradley Beal, Washington Wizards — $251 million
Sport: Basketball (NBA in North America)
Year signed: 2022
Length of the contract: 5 years
Beal can opt out of the contract after four years.
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