In recent years, it's been impossible not to notice how rich and appealing Major League Baseball contracts are — especially when compared to the physical demands of football. The Los Angeles Dodgers won the Shohei Ohtani sweepstakes, which cost $700 million and will be paid out over 20 years owing to some cunning planning.

Last offseason, the New York Yankees signed Aaron Judge to a lucrative $360 million contract, and no one took notice. So, if you want to spend your golden years traveling Europe, get your children involved in baseball.

The following is a list of the richest baseball players of all time, according on their career earnings.

Top 10 Richest MLB Players Of All Time
Top 10 Richest MLB Players Of All Time

How much do MLB players make?

The MLB minimum salary is $740,000 each season, and its players earn an average of $4.5 million.

The MLB Players Association reported a 7.1% raise.

The epidemic reduced average MLB salaries, but they have increased by more than 20% over the last two seasons.

Top 10 Richest MLB Players of All Time

1. Alex Rodriguez

Top 10 Richest MLB Players Of All Time

- Net worth: $350 million

- Career span: 1994-2016

- Nationality: United States

Alex Rodriguez, an American former professional baseball player and television pundit, has a net worth of $350 million. Alex Rodriguez played for the Seattle Mariners and the Texas Rangers, but he is best recognized for his time with the New York Yankees. He played for the Yankees from 2004 until he retired in 2017. As we will see in a moment, Alex earned around $475 million in total MLB salary over his career. He gained an additional $100-200 million in endorsements and continues to be immensely wealthy in retirement.

A-Rod, renowned for his commercial savvy, formed A-Rod Corp, a holding company that has made smart investments in real estate, construction, and a variety of startups. His entrepreneurial zeal has driven him to pursue a variety of projects and collaborations, demonstrating his adaptability and success outside of baseball.

READ MORE: Top 10 Most Expensive Baseball Bats Of All Time

2. Derek Jeter

Top 10 Richest MLB Players Of All Time

- Net worth: $200 million

- Career span: 1995-2014

- Nationality: United States

Derek Jeter has been very busy in retirement. Jeter founded The Players' Tribune in 2014, and Minute Media paid an unknown sum for it in 2019. Three years later, Jeter was part of a group that purchased the Miami Marlins for approximately $1.2 billion. In addition to earning hundreds of millions of dollars on the field, Jeter has endorsement deals with Jordan Brand and Gatorade.

3. Ichiro Suzuki

Top 10 Richest MLB Players Of All Time

- Net worth: $180 million

- Career span: 2001-2019

- Nationality: Japan

Ichiro Suzuki is a retired Japanese professional baseball player with an estimated net worth of $180 million. During his MLB career, Ichiro Suzuki earned $170 million in pay alone. He has earned just as much, if not more, via endorsements. Primarily in his native nation.

Before his final appearance in 2019, Ichiro spent 28 seasons in various top-tier baseball leagues. He is best remembered for his time with the Seattle Mariners, however he has also played for the New York Yankees and the Miami Marlins.

4. Albert Pujols

Top 10 Richest MLB Players Of All Time

- Net worth: $170 million

- Career span: 2001-2022

- Nationality: Dominican Republic/United States

Albert Pujols's highest salary with the Cardinals was $14.5 million. His latest contract with St. Louis was worth $100 million over seven years. His highest base pay with the Angels was $28 million. At the height of his success, endorsements brought him an additional $7 million each year. On December 8th, 2011, Albert Pujols signed a 10-year contract with the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim worth $254 million. At the time of signing, it was the second largest contract in baseball history, trailing only Alex Rodriguez's 10-year $275 million agreement with the New York Yankees. Pujols' contract is just the third in baseball history to exceed $200 million. Click here to see some of the highest-paid baseball players in the game. Between June 2017 and June 2018, Albert Pujols made $30 million in salary and endorsements, with income accounting for the great majority of that.

5. Justin Verlander

Top 10 Richest MLB Players Of All Time

- Net worth: $150 million

- Career span: 2005-present

- Nationality: United States

Justin inked a seven-year, $180 million contract with the Detroit Tigers. From 2017 to 2018, Justin Verlander earned $30 million in salary and sponsorships. That was enough to make him one of the world's highest-paid athletes. In March 2019, he signed a two-year, $66 million contract with the Houston Astros. In December 2022, Justin inked a two-year $86 million contract with the New York Mets.

6. Miguel Cabrera

Top 10 Richest MLB Players Of All Time

- Net worth: $145 million

- Career span: 2003-2023

- Nationality: Venezuela

Miguel Cabrera is one of the best hitters of his generation, yet he has not received many endorsements. Cabrera did appear in Chrysler advertisements, but the majority of his fortune came from his on-field heroics, which included 3,101 hits and 507 home runs and totaled more than $400 million in contracts. Cabrera did make an investment in a confectionery company, but it went bad. He retired in 2023, but he has not left his beloved Detroit Tigers behind; he is now a special assistant to the president of baseball operations.

7. Zack Greinke

Top 10 Richest MLB Players Of All Time

- Net worth: $120 million

- Career span: 2004-present

- Nationality: United States

Zack Greinke's 2015 contract with the Arizona Diamondbacks was previously the highest average annual contract in baseball history. Greinke made more than $34 million every year, for a total of $206 million. Greinke, who has two ERA titles and 224 wins, will return to the Kansas City Royals in 2021 after spending his first seven major league seasons there. He signed a one-year contract with the Royals for $8.5 million in 2023, but he has been a free agency since the season concluded.

8. Ryan Howard

Top 10 Richest MLB Players Of All Time

- Net worth: $120 million

- Career span: 2004-2016

- Nationality: United States

Ryan Howard was one of the most visible athletes throughout his career. He held endorsements from Subway, Adidas, Powerade, and Verizon. Howard made more than $180 million while with the Philadelphia Phillies, when he blasted 382 home runs. He is now an accomplished children's literature author.

9. Robinson Canó

Top 10 Richest MLB Players Of All Time

- Net worth: $110 million

- Career span: 2005-2022

- Nationality: Dominican Republic/United States

Robinson Canó, a Dominican professional baseball player, has a net worth of $110 million. Robinson Canó is best known as a four-time All-Star, a Silver Slugger Award winner (2006, 2010, and 2011), and a member of the Yankees' World Series title team in 2009.

During his first 15 years in Major League Baseball, Canó earned slightly less than $200 million in salary. He is among the top 20 highest-paid baseball players of all time. His earnings would have been higher during that time period, but Robinson was suspended for the 2021 season in November 2020 after failing a PED test. The suspension will cost him a minimum of $24 million in compensation. This was his second PED suspension. Robinson was already suspended for 80 games in 2018.

10. Joey Votto

Top 10 Richest MLB Players Of All Time

- Net worth: $110 million

- Career span: 2007-2023

- Nationality: Canada

Joey Votto made more than $220 million throughout his Reds career, and he definitely has money to spend. Votto purchased a $10.5 million California property in 2019, and he has done infamous pranks like as buying a teammate a donkey and mailing 51 pizzas from California Pizza Kitchen to Ichiro Suzuki. He left the MLB following the 2022-2023 season to accept a minor league contract with his local team, the Toronto Blue Jays.

Conclusion

There is no question about who is the highest paid MLB player today, but the amount of money the top players earn is startling.

MLB salaries are increasing, but this can be a major issue for the teams who pay them.

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