A Major League Baseball player has never made $100 million in a single year, with $72 million the prior high-water mark from salaries and endorsements. Yet in 2025, a pair of generational talents will both hit nine figures in very different ways.
Juan Soto and Shohei Ohtani are the top earners in the sport by a wide margin. Soto’s $129 million haul is derived 95% from his playing contract, including an MLB-record $75 million signing bonus as part of the 15-year, $765 million free-agent deal he signed with the New York Mets in December.
Ohtani’s 10-year, $700 million deal signed a year earlier with the Los Angeles Dodgers is all deferred outside of $2 million per year, but the Japanese superstar is expected to earn $100 million from sponsors and memorabilia after a season when he won his third MVP Award and first World Series title.
Ohtani has been deemed a unicorn for his ability to impact baseball games at the plate and on the mound, but it also applies to his off-field game. Before Ohtani, endorsement earnings for MLB players peaked around $10 million for Derek Jeter and Ichiro Suzuki. Ohtani’s $100 million in estimated endorsement earnings is a threshold reached by only three athletes ever in Tiger Woods, Roger Federer and Stephen Curry, who each did it one time.
The power of Ohtani was on display last October when the World Series featuring the Dodgers and New York Yankees averaged 12.9 million viewers per game in Japan despite the 16-hour time zone difference from Los Angeles. The U.S., with nearly three times as many people and games airing in prime time, averaged a tick higher at 15.9 million. MLB kicked off its season this week in Tokyo, and Ohtani’s face was ubiquitous on ad campaigns around the world’s most populous city. His Instagram following is four times that of any other active baseball player.
Ohtani added a half-dozen companies this year to his endorsement portfolio and did several renewals after his inaugural season in Dodger Blue elevated his global standing even further. He has 20 brand partners, including New Balance, where his deal is more akin to a global NBA superstar shoe deal than anything previously done in baseball, and his memorabilia/card agreement with Fanatics/Topps is also unprecedented. Existing major sponsors Ito En, Kowa, Kosé and Seiko are still in place, and he added Beats, Epic Games and Secom for 2025. Ohtani is the first MLB player to be included in Epic’s Fortnite video game.
“We’re very careful and strategic with the gameplan for Shohei,” his CAA agent Nez Balelo said in a phone interview. “It’s important to be aligned with all the brands we work with on how they use Shohei in their campaigns.” Balelo targets brands and categories Shohei uses and says he has been careful not to overexpose Ohtani or overwhelm his commitments on time.
Ohtani’s partner companies are split almost evenly between being headquartered in the U.S. versus Japan, but almost all the brands use him globally.
The Soto sweepstakes unofficially opened in the summer of 2022 when he turned down a 15-year, $440 million contract from the Washington Nationals. After stops in San Diego and the Bronx, bidding reached a fever pitch for one of the best hitters in the game, who was still only 26 years old. For context, Soto is the only player among the top 15 earners under the age of 30.
“We turned down $440 million from the Nationals because I knew that that was not the valuation for Juan Soto,” Soto’s agent Scott Boros said in a phone interview. “It was a competitive negotiation, and to Juan’s credit, he trusted our valuations and how we looked at it.”
Multiple teams offered the outfielder more than $700 million, and the Mets’ winning bid included no deferred money and a player opt-out after the 2029 season. New York can void the opt-out by adding $40 million to the final 10 years of the deal, pushing the total value to $805 million and an average annual value of $53.66 million. Soto made a combined $54 million over his last two arbitration-eligible seasons.
Baseball is littered with young stars driving excitement in markets such as Cincinnati, Kansas City and Pittsburgh, but the sport continues to struggle with its massive bifurcation on team spending. There are 13 players in New York or Los Angeles with playing salaries greater than $25 million in 2025—that does not include Ohtani—and then 14 in the rest of baseball. The American League and National League Central divisions have 10 teams, but only two players among the top 25 salaries in shortstops Carlos Correa (Minnesota Twins) and Dansby Swanson (Chicago Cubs).
Methodology
The 15 highest-paid MLB players will earn an estimated $745 million overall in 2025, up 15% from last year’s $647 million. Boras represents nine of the 15 athletes, with Wasserman the only other agency with multiple clients to make the cut (Zack Wheeler, Giancarlo Stanton).
The earnings are based on cash payouts in 2025 and do not include any potential incentives—Soto’s pact calls for $500,000 for a first MVP and $1 million for each subsequent one. Deferred compensation and signing bonuses are included in the year they are paid. Off-field earnings estimates were compiled through conversations with those familiar with MLB endorsement deals. Also factored in is income from memorabilia, appearances, media and businesses tied to their celebrity. The figures are all before taxes and any agent fees.
The 15 Highest-Paid Players in 2025
1. Juan Soto (New York Mets): $128.9 million
Salary: $121.9 million | Endorsements: $7 million | Age: 26
Soto’s endorsement profile has soared since he moved to New York last year with the Yankees and should help his career earnings hit $1 billion. His current sponsors include Under Armour, Presidente, Banreservas, Wilson and Activision/Call of Duty. Last year, Celsius sign a deal with Soto, the first time the energy drink maker has partnered with a baseball player.
2. Shohei Ohtani (Los Angeles Dodgers): $102 million
Salary: $2 million | Endorsements: $100 million | Age: 30
Ohtani joined the Dodgers amid massive expectations and then managed to exceed them with a third unanimous MVP after posting the first season in MLB history with 50 home runs and 50 stolen bases. No other player has been named MVP unanimously more than once. He joined Frank Robinson as the only players to win MVPs in both leagues.
3. Blake Snell (Los Angeles Dodgers): $65.6 million
Salary: $64.8 million | Endorsements: $750,000 | Age: 32
Snell’s 2023 free agency was likely impacted by the qualifying offer requiring any team that signed him to relinquish a top draft pick. Without the QO attached in 2024, Snell signed a five-year, $182 million deal with the Dodgers. The deal included a $52 million signing bonus paid in January and then $26 million annually, with $13.2 million deferred each season.
4. Aaron Judge (New York Yankees): $47 million
Salary: $40 million | Endorsements: $7 million | Age: 32
The Yankees captain has ramped up his off-field game over the past two years, signing with Nike’s Jordan Brand in 2023, and then as the face of Ralph Lauren’s new fragrance “Polo Est. 67” and with Prime Hydration last year. In August, the slugger hit his 300th career home run in his 955th game, making him the fastest player in MLB history to reach that threshold.
5. Zack Wheeler (Philadelphia Phillies): $42.2 million
Salary: $42 million | Endorsements: $200,000 | Age: 34
Last year, Wheeler signed a three-year, $126 million extension that kicks off this season. Wheeler generated 25.4 wins above replacement (WAR) during his first five seasons in Philadelphia after signing as a free agent. Outside of Ohtani, it was the highest among pitchers and included an NL-high 7.5 during the 2021 season.
6. Jacob deGrom (Texas Rangers): $40.3 million
Salary: $40 million | Endorsements: $300,000 | Age: 36
The Rangers signed deGrom to a $185 million, five-year deal ahead of the 2023 season, but the righthander made only six starts in 2023 and three starts in 2024, as Tommy John surgery limited his availability. He still collected $70 million in salary for those two seasons and will earn $40 million in 2025. When deGrom does pitch, he is elite. His career WHIP is the second-lowest all time, behind only Addie Joss, who played his last game in 1910.
7. Mike Trout (Los Angeles Angels): $39.5 million
Salary: $35.5 million | Endorsements: $4 million | Age: 33
Trout’s first nine full seasons with the Angels was one of the most dominant runs in the history of the sport. He won three MVP Awards, finished second four times and fourth and fifth in balloting the other two seasons. But injuries have hampered Trout the past four seasons. His 12-year, $426.5 million contract was the richest in the sport before deals for Ohtani and Soto. The deal pays $35.45 million each season through 2030.
8. Anthony Rendon (Los Angeles Angels): $38.1 million
Salary: $38 million | Endorsements: $100,000 | Age: 34
It has been a struggle for Rendon since he signed a $245 million, seven-year contract ahead of the 2020 season. He’s played just 257 games over five seasons and posted a cumulative WAR of only 3.9. He is set to miss the entire 2025 season after hip surgery. The Angels owe the third baseman this year and next, whether he is on the roster or not.
9. Gerrit Cole (New York Yankees): $38 million
Salary: $36 million | Endorsements: $2 million | Age: 34
Cole will miss the 2025 season after undergoing Tommy John surgery this month. The righty’s first four seasons in the Bronx produced three top-five Cy Young finishes, including a win for his 2023 season, but an injury limited Cole to 17 starts last year. His nine-year, $324 million deal was the largest contract ever for a pitcher until December 2023 deals for YoshinobuYamamoto and Ohtani.
10. Carlos Correa (Minnesota Twins): $36.5 million
Salary: $36 million | Endorsements: $500,000 | Age: 30
Correa’s 2025 salary is $11 million higher than the next biggest for a player on an AL Central team—$25 million for Jack Flaherty and Javier Báez on the Detroit Tigers. The shortstop’s six-year, $200 million contract runs through the 2028 season, and the Twins have club options for 2029-2032 that become guaranteed with certain plate appearance thresholds or end-of-year awards. Correa’s endorsement partners are Nike, Franklin and Rawlings.
11. Bryce Harper (Philadelphia Phillies): $36 million
Salary: $26 million | Endorsements: $10 million | Age: 32
Harper is entering his 14th MLB season but is still just 32 years old. His 13-year, $330 million contract was the biggest in baseball when signed in 2019, but it now ranks ninth, and the AAV is 33rd, according to Spotrac. The two-time MVP continues to be one of baseball’s most marketable players and a rare player with a signature cleat, with last year’s Under Armour model the ninth iteration. He also partners with Just Ingredients, Rawlings, Com2uS, Blind Barber and New Era.
12. Corey Seager (Texas Rangers): $35 million
Salary: $32 million | Endorsements: $3 million | Age: 30
In 2023, the shortstop led the Rangers to their first title in franchise history and captured the World Series MVP. The success boosted his off-field earnings, and his endorsements include Adidas, Budweiser, Rawlings, Raising Cane’s and T-Mobile. Seager has been an All-Star all three years in Texas since he signed a 10-year, $325 million contract in free agency.
13. Giancarlo Stanton (New York Yankees): $32.3 million
Salary: $32 million | Endorsements: $250,000 | Age: 35
Stanton is another high-priced Yankees star dealing with injuries in 2025, and his balky elbows are expected to keep him sidelined for the foreseeable future. Last year, the 2017 National League MVP posted his best slugging percentage since the 2021 season, and he erupted in the playoffs where he earned series MVP honors after hitting four home runs in the American League Championship Series against the Cleveland Guardians.
14 (tie). Jose Altuve (Houston Astros): $32 million
Salary: $30 million | Endorsements: $2 million | Age: 34
This season, Altuve kicks off a five-year extension worth $125 million that he signed in February. Altuve spent his first 14 years in the big leagues as a second baseman but is expected to move to the outfield this year. He ranks second all-time in postseason home runs and runs scored. His sponsors are Wilson, HEB, New Balance, Daikin and 2 Hoots Hard Tea.
14 (tie). Pete Alonso (New York Mets): $32 million
Salary: $30 million | Endorsements: $2 million | Age: 30
Polar Bear is back in Queens after signing a two-year, $54 million deal with New York when bigger offers did not materialize elsewhere in free agency for the Mets fan favorite. Alonso has been a model of consistency for the Mets, missing only 24 games during his first six years with the club—he played all 162 last year. His OPS+, which measures players’ batting adjusted for ballparks, has ranged from 22% to 47% above the league average each season.
