Biggest Player Contracts and Deals in Sports History

Money has been sloshing about in the pockets of owners and potential advertising partners for decades now, and despite economies everywhere licking their wounds, spending big bucks in sport seems like it is here to stay. Everyone from NFL franchises to European soccer clubs are offloading huge amounts of capital in order to invest in the stars of today and tomorrow.

Here are some of the biggest sports deals ever negotiated, that had sports agents rubbing their hands in glee as their percentage cut suddenly looked like a king’s ransom.

Caption: Mahomes is the king of Kansas City, and he gets paid accordingly

Patrick Mahomes Earns the GDP of the State of Kansas

Well, not quite, but there is no doubting that at the age of just 24, Patrick Mahomes has the NFL at his twinkle toes, having already bagged himself Super Bowl and MVP titles in just two campaigns as starting quarter-back.

It was all these things that meant he recently signed off on an eye-watering $503 million contract (who added that $3 on the end?), which will keep him at the current Super Bowl champions till 2030.

If he turns out to be the next Tom Brady that could be money well spent, but it also means that defensive lines will be itching to sack this golden goose as heavily as humanly possible, every single week. However, that is not stopping most bookmakers from making them favorites to go back-to-back, with Mahomes’ throwing arm key to realizing that feat.

Canelo Alvarez is the Next Floyd Mayweather

Again, this title is somewhat misleading, with no one since Mayweather’s retirement coming close to having the earning power that the self-proclaimed TBE (The Best Ever) did.

That said, Canelo Alvarez is having a good go at doing just that, having recently signed a record breaking deal with new streaming platform DAZN, which will see him take home $365 million over the space of the next five years, or 11 fights.

Only Anthony Joshua and Tyson Fury come close to having the same earning power as the Mexican, although that could soon change if the two heavyweights meet either this year or next. Manny Pacquiao also makes a good few dollar bills despite being long in the tooth.

Women boxers are fast catching up with their male counterparts when it comes to earning power

Mike Trout Is the Biggest Fish in a Huge MLB Pond

When it comes to consistently enormous multi-year deals, the MLB is the go-to league in the US or anywhere in the world, with deals consistently breaching the $300 million mark.

The biggest of all of these was the one made by the Los Angeles Angels for Mike Trout, with $430 million set to change hands over the coming 12 years.

Not far behind in the earning stakes were the likes of Bryce Harper and Giancarlo Stanton. It will be intriguing to see if MLB owners continue this trend for tying down their top stars to mammoth deals.

Tiger and Rory Pushing Each Other to the Top of the Earning Tree

Golf has always been a sport for high rollers, but with no teams or leagues competing for the signatures of players, it is down to advertisers to do battle over which players will become their hired clothes horses on the fairways and greens of the PGA Tour.

Nike has been leading the way in this regard in recent times, signing the two most recognizable names in the sport in the shape of Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy.

The latter is viewed very much as the long-term future of the sport and Nike agree, giving the Northern Irishman a $200 million contract extension, with Woods not too far behind.

Lionel Messi Could Be the Next Benefactor of a Huge Sports Deal

It is a toss up between Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi as to who is the greatest soccer player, and best paid soccer player, on the planet.

However, with Messi making it clear he wishes to leave Barcelona for the first time in his career, the possibility looms of a club with untold riches coming to the table to meet his $700 million buy-out clause. If someone does break the bank to sign Messi, it will eclipse all records that went before it.

This article does not necessarily reflect the opinions of the editors or management of EconoTimes