WASHINGTON — Stephen Strasburg – already assured a place in MLB history for helping the Washington Nationals win the team’s first World Series – is about to get another notch in his belt: the ninth-largest MLB contract ever.
The Nationals confirmed in a press release Monday that Strasburg and the team had agreed to terms on a seven-year contract. The Mid-Atlantic Sports Network reported the value of that contract at $245,000,000 – or $35,000,000 a year.
Strasburg was the number one overall pick in the 2009 MLB draft, and has spent his entire career with the Nationals. During that time he’s been a three-time All Star, a Silver Slugger and was named the MVP of the 2019 World Series.
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His previous seven-year, $175 million contract with the Nationals already put Strasburg among the top 30 largest contracts in sports. His reported new deal could push him into the top 10 – if you don’t count boxer Floyd Mayweather’s contract with Showtime, which reportedly allowed him to rake in as much as $450 million as both a competitor and promoter, according to Forbes.
Strasburg's new contract could also push his pay-per-pitch to nearly $12,000, assuming he continues throwing at the rate he has over the past seven years.
WUSA9 pulled Strasburg's pitching and salary stats to calculate what a 3,000-pitch season (his average over the past seven years) would look like. At his new salary, Strasburg would make an estimated $11,833 per pitch.
Among the few other athletes who’ve inked larger deals than Strasburg are New York Yankees star Alex Rodriguez, Los Angeles Angels center fielder Mike Trout and Strasburg’s former Nationals teammate Bryce Harper.
"Stephen Strasburg is one of the premier pitching talents of this generation," Washington Nationals President of Baseball Operations and General Manager Mike Rizzo said. "His body of work this season and throughout his career proves that and the way he performed this Postseason was nothing short of brilliant. We are looking forward to having Stephen as a part of our team for many years to come."
Strasburg ranks fifth among MLB pitchers with 1,603 strikeouts in his career. He is the Nationals’ all-time leader in career wins, strikeouts, starts and innings pitched.
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Jordan Fischer is a data reporter with WUSA9. Follow him on Twitter at @JordanOnRecord.