Breaking: Phillies Sign Bryce Harper to Largest Free-Agent Deal in Sports History (13 Years, $330 Mi
The offseason of Manny Machado and Bryce Harper (and Patrick Corbin…remember he was a top-name to acquire this offseason?) is finally over.
First off the board came Manny Machado, who signed a 10-Year, $300 Million deal with the Padres just over a week ago. Here are some perspectives from writer Paul Semendinger from the day after the deal was first announced.
Earleir today, however, Jon Heyman posted the most simple tweet to convey the news, “Breaking: Bryce to the Phillies”. Following this came a flurry of tweets regarding how many years and salary, lack of opt-outs or deferrals, luxury tax considerations, and the like. (As always, linked tweets will appear in the article.)
The AAV on this deal will be about $25.4M a year for luxury tax purposes, which is in-line with most major contracts for top baseball players, and will set the Phillies up to have a solid support system around their new outfielder.
Ethan’s Quick Take: I honestly don’t know how to feel about this. The AAV is low enough that I can’t fathom not being able to sign Harper, but the years (until he’s 39!) is a major detractor for me. I think I am going to need to sit on this before I decide how I truly feel. Right now though, I’m content that this offseason of rumors is over.
Breaking: Bryce to the Phillies — Jon Heyman (@JonHeyman) February 28, 2019
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Bryce Harper’s deal with the Phillies will be for 13 years and $330M, league sources tell ESPN. It will not include any opt-outs. — Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) February 28, 2019
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Harper’s contract has no deferrals, no opt-outs, and is being described as “front-loaded.” Harper did not want opt outs, I’m told. Preferred long-term stability. — Barry Svrluga (@barrysvrluga) February 28, 2019
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Though one source says Harper did not want opt-out, others around game say #Phillies likely refused him one if they were going to award him record guarantee. Relatively low AAV will help Phils with future luxury-tax thresholds. No deferrals, as others have reported. — Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) February 28, 2019
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The extra-long term in Bryce Harper’s 13-year, $330M deal not only ties him to Philadelphia until he’s on the cusp of 40 but was important to Phillies for CBT purposes. The luxury-tax number will be just over $25M, a friendly number for a star player. Gives Phillies flexibility. — Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) February 28, 2019
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Some context on the Nats’ 10-year, $300-million offer: I’m told from two sources that a significant — like, made MLB queasy — amount of money was deferred. One source said it included $100-million in deferrals and paid Harper until he was 60. The PHI deal has no deferrals. — Barry Svrluga (@barrysvrluga) February 28, 2019
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To clarify, the $20 million signing bonus is PART of the $330 million. That first $20 million is simply front-loaded. https://t.co/EoYrWQvfJ4 — Jared Diamond (@jareddiamond) February 28, 2019
