Aaron Judge, the New York Yankees slugger Aaron Judge is accounted as the highest-paid position player for the second straight year at $40 million.
Last winter Judge, the 2022 American League MVP signed a nine-year deal worth $360 million, which was the largest by a free agent in baseball history.
His $40 million average salary ranks fourth in the majors, behind only Max Scherzer ($43.33 million) Justin Verlander ($43.33 million), and Shohei Ohtani ($70 million).
The Top 15 highest-paid MLB players of 2024 💰
(via @Sportico) pic.twitter.com/I93bGp3207
— B/R Walk-Off (@BRWalkoff) March 20, 2024
Shohei Ohtani and Yoshinobu Yamamoto are now teammates and are counted as the two highest-paid players in baseball this year, with a combined $127 million.
The Los Angeles Dodgers offered record-breaking contracts this winter to the Japanese pair, who won their league’s MVP last season. They had helped Japan secure a gold medal in the 2023 WBC Classic and were after by most big market clubs.
Ohtani had secured $67 million in 2024 including only $2 million in salary from the Dodgers, while Yamamoto had a $50 million signing bonus, a bulk of his $60 million income this year.
In the 10-year deal with the Dodgers, Ohtani broke the bank with his $700 million, his contract details for the two-way sensation, include 97% of the money deferred.
MLB’s minimum salary is $740,000 in 2024, and no limits on how much of an MLB contract can be deferred if the minimum salary is received. The Dodgers will pay Ohtani $68 million annually between 2034 and 2043.
Ohtani’s 2024 off-field earnings are estimated at $65 million, or 60% more than the rest of the MLB’s top 15 highest-paid players in 2024 combined, Bryce Harper ranks second in endorsement earnings at $7 million.
MLB’s top 15 earners will make a combined $647 million in 2024, up 7% from a year ago and the Off-field earnings represent only 16% of this total.
Five teams had landed multiple players from the top 15, including a trio of Yankees Aaron Judge, Gerrit Cole, Juan Soto, and Texas Rangers Max Scherzer, Jacob deGrom, and Corey Seager.
