About this chart race
The record changed hands six times in seventeen years. Alex Rodriguez's $275M stood for four years until Giancarlo Stanton signed for $325M in 2014, and then it moved three years running: Canelo Alvarez $365M in 2018, Mike Trout $430M in 2019, Patrick Mahomes $503M in 2020. The largest single jump on the whole chart is Lionel Messi, from $149M to $674M in 2021. Juan Soto passed him in 2024 with $765M at the Mets, and Cristiano Ronaldo's $710M at Al Nassr now sits second. The top ten has tripled in value: $1.77B combined in 2010, $5.40B in 2026.
This animated ranking shows how largest contract signed changed across 75 series between 2010 and 2026. The bars re-order themselves as the years advance, so overtakes are visible as they happen rather than hidden inside a table. Use the list on the left to choose exactly who competes, drag the slider to jump to any year, or open the table view to read the underlying numbers.
As of 2026, Juan Soto leads with 765.
Included in this race
Juan Soto, Cristiano Ronaldo, Shohei Ohtani, Lionel Messi, Patrick Mahomes, Vladimir Guerrero Jr., Karim Benzema, Mike Trout, Neymar, Mookie Betts, Canelo Álvarez, Aaron Judge, Manny Machado, Erling Haaland, Francisco Lindor, Fernando Tatís Jr., Max Verstappen, Bryce Harper, Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Giancarlo Stanton, Corey Seager, Gerrit Cole, Rafael Devers, Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown, Trea Turner, Miguel Cabrera, Xander Bogaerts, Alex Rodriguez, Nikola Jokić, Nolan Arenado, Josh Allen, Albert Pujols, Stephen Strasburg, Anthony Rendon, Sebastian Vettel, Robinson Canó, James Harden, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Joey Votto, David Price, Stephen Curry, Clayton Kershaw, Prince Fielder, Max Scherzer, Zack Greinke, Russell Westbrook, Derek Jeter, Joe Mauer, Jason Heyward, Mark Teixeira, Justin Verlander, Floyd Mayweather, Félix Hernández, Buster Posey, CC Sabathia, Matt Kemp, Manny Ramírez, Fernando Alonso, Troy Tulowitzki, Masahiro Tanaka, Adrián González, Kimi Räikkönen, Jacoby Ellsbury, Todd Helton, Gareth Bale, Carl Crawford, Johan Santana, Kobe Bryant, Alfonso Soriano, Michael Vick, Jermaine O'Neal, Vernon Wells, Kevin Garnett, Barry Zito.
Source
Data from Wikipedia (List of largest sports contracts). Every figure shown comes from this source — nothing is estimated or generated.
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