Major League Baseball’s annual Winter Meetings are drawing ever nearer to their scheduled Dec. 3 start date. As the meetings come more into view, expect both the free agent and trade markets to heat up. In the interim, all eyes will remain on two-way superstar Shohei Ohtani, who has thus far kept his free-agent plans and suitors close to his vest. Ohtani was widely expected to sign the largest deal in MLB history before undergoing elbow surgery that will prevent him from pitching during the 2024 season.
Now, it seems at least possible that Ohtani will sign a shorter-term deal that will enable him to return to the marketplace in the near future, once he’s proven that he’s still an elite talent both ways. Should Ohtani take that route, he would almost certainly be the game’s highest-paid player in 2024 and have the biggest yearly salary in MLB history as determined by average annual value — the average payout per season.
Below are the lists of both baseball’s top 10 best-paid players in 2024 as well as the largest AAVs in MLB history. You’ll note the lists have some differences. Different yearly salaries based on contract structures make players like Anthony Rendon and Patrick Corbin show up higher on the list of the top-paid players in 2024 based on information provided by Sportrac.
MLB’s highest-paid players 2024
Below, you’ll find the 10 biggest contracts in terms of average annual value in baseball history, along with each player’s signing team (not their current team), and the terms of their deal.
Biggest contracts in MLB history based on AAV
T1. Max Scherzer, RHP, New York Mets: $43,333,333 (2022-24)T1. Justin Verlander, RHP, New York Mets: $43,333,333 (2023-24)3. Aaron Judge, OF, New York Yankees: $40,000,000 (2023-31)4. Jacob deGrom, RHP, Texas Rangers: $37,000,000 (2023-27)5. Gerrit Cole, RHP, New York Yankees: $36,000,000 (2020-28)6. Mike Trout, OF, Los Angeles Angels: $35,541,667 (2019-30)7. Carlos Correa, SS, Minnesota Twins: $35,100,000 (2022-24)T8. Stephen Strasburg, RHP, Washington Nationals: $35,000,000 (2020-26)T8. Anthony Rendon, 3B, Los Angeles Angels: $35,000,000 (2020-26)10. Francisco Lindor, SS, New York Mets: $34,100,000 (2022-31)
You can take a look at the biggest contracts ever in MLB history based on total money here. Ohtani has a great chance to be No. 1 on all of these lists by 2024 Opening Day. An 11-year, $500 million deal, for example, would be the largest contract in MLB history in terms of both total money and average annual value ($45.45M) and would make him the top-paid player in MLB next season as long as he received his average salary in the first year of the deal.
You can follow along with all the latest news, notes, and rumors concerning Ohtani’s free agency by clicking here.
