By reported total value, Juan Soto’s 15-year, $765 million free-agent contract with the New York Mets is the biggest MLB contract in the league’s cited historical ranking. Shohei Ohtani’s 10-year, $700 million Dodgers deal ranks second. But “biggest” depends on what you compare: total nominal dollars, contract length, free-agent deals or extensions, and when the money is paid all tell different stories.
What is the biggest MLB contract by total value?
Soto’s Mets agreement tops MLB.com’s free-agent ranking at 15 years and $765 million. MLB.com’s list ranks deals by total contract value, not average annual value, and excludes extensions. MLB.com’s December 9, 2024 ranking places Ohtani’s Dodgers deal second at 10 years and $700 million, followed by Aaron Judge’s Yankees contract at nine years and $360 million.
The order is time-sensitive: a later agreement can change the ranking. These figures are reported headline values, not a comparison of what each player receives in today’s dollars.
Largest MLB free-agent contracts
| Rank | Player | Reported contract | Team |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Juan Soto | 15 years, $765 million | New York Mets |
| 2 | Shohei Ohtani | 10 years, $700 million | Los Angeles Dodgers |
| 3 | Aaron Judge | 9 years, $360 million | New York Yankees |
These are free-agent agreements in MLB.com’s cited ranking; they should not be compared as if they were all extensions or ranked by annual pay.
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What is the biggest MLB contract extension?
Among extensions, Vladimir Guerrero Jr.’s 14-year, $500 million agreement with the Toronto Blue Jays leads MLB.com’s cited extension ranking. Mike Trout’s 12-year, $426.5 million extension and Mookie Betts’ 12-year, $365 million extension are also among the largest. MLB publishes these separately from free-agent deals because the two categories describe different kinds of agreements. See MLB.com’s extension ranking.
| Player | Reported extension | Team |
|---|---|---|
| Vladimir Guerrero Jr. | 14 years, $500 million | Toronto Blue Jays |
| Mike Trout | 12 years, $426.5 million | Los Angeles Angels |
| Mookie Betts | 12 years, $365 million | Los Angeles Dodgers |
Which MLB contract is the longest?
Soto’s 15-year agreement is the longest among the deals covered in MLB.com’s historical overview. In an article published April 11, 2026, MLB.com counted 29 contracts of at least 10 years and identified Soto’s as the longest. That count is specific to that publication date, not a permanent total. MLB.com’s long-contract overview provides the dated list.
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Why headline contract values do not tell the whole financial story
A contract’s total nominal value adds the dollars reported across its term, but does not show when the player receives them. Ohtani’s Dodgers agreement includes substantial deferrals, as reported by MLB.com and in the team’s announcement. That means the $700 million headline should not be read as an amount paid immediately or as a present-value calculation. MLB.com’s account of Ohtani’s contract discusses the reported payment structure.
A present-value comparison would account for payment timing, but the cited rankings do not provide a harmonized present-value table for all these contracts. So the defensible record here is the reported total-value ranking—not a claim that Soto’s agreement has the highest economic value after adjusting every deal on the same basis.
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How to interpret “biggest”
- Largest reported total: Soto’s $765 million free-agent deal in MLB.com’s cited ranking.
- Largest extension: Guerrero’s $500 million Blue Jays extension in MLB.com’s cited extension ranking.
- Longest term: Soto’s 15 years in MLB.com’s April 11, 2026 overview.
- Payment timing: Deferred money can make a headline total different from the amount’s present value; the cited rankings do not calculate a comparable present value across players.
MLB.com’s historical free-agent list also excludes extensions, including Trout’s $426.5 million deal, and excludes Catfish Hunter’s December 1974 signing because MLB’s modern free-agency period began in December 1975 and Hunter’s contract situation was unusual. Those boundaries matter when describing a “record” as applying to a particular category rather than all contracts in baseball history.
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