When we published our ranking of the largest sports contracts of all time, it was filled with eye-popping numbers: Juan Soto’s $765 million deal with the New York Mets. Shohei Ohtani’s $700 million contract with the Los Angeles Dodgers. Lionel Messi’s $674 million leaked agreement with FC Barcelona. These were the biggest deals ever signed by professional athletes, ranked purely by total contract value.
That list, now featuring more than 40 contracts over $250 million, is dominated by Major League Baseball players, with a few huge outliers from global soccer, the NBA, and NFL quarterbacks. Soto’s contract runs for 15 years. Ohtani’s for 10. Patrick Mahomes famously signed a 10-year, $503 million deal. The common thread: length. These massive totals are usually built on long-term commitments that stretch across a decade or more.
But here’s where things get interesting: none of those record-setting deals ranks as the highest in terms of average annual salary. In fact, the biggest paydays per year often come from much shorter-term contracts, especially in sports like soccer and basketball, where player movement is frequent and top-tier talent commands extreme premiums.
That’s what this list is all about: the largest sports contracts of all time based on how much an athlete earns each year, not over a decade or more.
For example, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander just signed a 4-year, $285 million supermax extension. In terms of the largest contracts of all time, that deal would land at #25. But in terms of average annual salary, it’s one of the biggest in history. It is the #1 biggest in NBA, MLB and NFL history.
(Photo by Tayfun Coskun /Anadolu via Getty Images)
Top 10 Largest Sports Contracts by Average Annual Earnings
| Rank | Athlete | Contract | Sport | Average Annual Salary |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Cristiano Ronaldo (2025) | 2 years, $620 million (Al Nassr) | Soccer | $310 million |
| 2 | Karim Benzema (2023) | 2 years, $436 million (Al-Ittihad) | Soccer | $218 million |
| 3 | Cristiano Ronaldo (2022) | 2.5 years, $536 million (Al Nassr) | Soccer | $214.5 million |
| 4 | Lionel Messi (2017–2021) | 4 years, $674 million (FC Barcelona) | Soccer | $168.5 million |
| 5 | Kylian Mbappé (2022) | 3 years, $681 million (PSG) | Soccer | $227 million* |
| 6 | Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (2025) | 4 years, $285 million (Thunder) | Basketball | $71.25 million |
| 7 | Shohei Ohtani (2023) | 10 years, $700 million (Dodgers)** | Baseball | $70 million |
| 8 | Canelo Álvarez (2018) | 5 years, $365 million (DAZN) | Boxing | $73 million |
| 9 | Jayson Tatum (2024) | 5 years, $314 million (Celtics) | Basketball | $62.8 million |
| 10 | Jaylen Brown (2023) | 5 years, $303.7 million (Celtics) | Basketball | $60.7 million |
*Mbappé’s figure includes a $180 million signing bonus and incentives
**Ohtani’s deal is heavily deferred; only $2 million per year is paid through 2033
Sovereign Soccer Money Leads the Way
Saudi Arabia’s massive push to attract global soccer talent has rewritten the record books. Cristiano Ronaldo’s two separate deals with Al Nassr — first in 2022, then a richer extension in 2025 that made him a billionaire — now rank as the top two highest annual salaries in sports history. His latest contract pays $310 million per year, including salary, bonuses, and equity stakes.
Karim Benzema isn’t far behind. His two-year, $436 million contract with Al-Ittihad averages $218 million per year, identical to Ronaldo’s earlier deal. Kylian Mbappé, who stayed with PSG in 2022 despite interest from Real Madrid, secured a three-year pact that reportedly works out to $227 million annually, depending on bonuses and incentives.
NBA Stars Are Right There Too
In July 2025, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander signed the richest deal in NBA history in terms of annual value — a 4-year, $285 million extension that works out to $71.25 million per season. That edges out Shohei Ohtani’s deferred $70 million average and puts Shai just behind some of the Saudi-backed soccer stars.
Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown, both with the Boston Celtics, also crack the list with supermax extensions worth more than $60 million annually. Thanks to rising salary caps and a smaller roster size, the NBA continues to generate more per-player wealth than any other American team sport.
Baseball’s Numbers Look Different Here
Shohei Ohtani’s $700 million deal looks massive on paper — and it is — but much of that money is deferred until 2034. While the deal technically averages $70 million per year, he’s actually receiving just $2 million per year for the first 10 seasons.
Meanwhile, Juan Soto’s 15-year, $765 million deal — the largest total contract in sports — only averages around $50 million per year, depending on whether his opt-out is triggered or overridden. In terms of AAV, Soto doesn’t crack the top 10.
The Real Takeaway
If total contract value tells us who signed the flashiest headline, average annual earnings tell us who’s actually taking home the most money each year. It’s no surprise that soccer and basketball stars dominate this list, where shorter deals are paired with massive payouts and often guaranteed money.
In today’s sports economy, the real financial power isn’t always in the size of the contract — it’s in the speed of the paycheck.
