The Los Angeles Dodgers have signed their ace, and two-time Cy Young Award winning left-hander, Clayton Kershaw to a mega contract extension on Friday. The 7-year, $215 million deal makes the 25-year-old Kershaw the highest paid pitcher in baseball history.
Kershaw will get an $18 million signing bonus, payable in three $6 million installments this season. He will receive a salary of $4 million this year, $30 million next year, $32 million in 2016, $33 million in each of the next two seasons, $32 million in 2019 and $33 million in 2020.
Kershaw also has the opportunity to earn more money come Major League Baseball awards time. He could earn a $1 million bonus each time he wins the Cy Young Award and $500,000 whenever he finishes second or third in the voting.
This deal breaks the salary record for a pitcher of $180 million set by Justin Verlander last March for his seven-year contract with the Detroit Tigers.
Kershaw’s average salary of $30.7 million betters the previous high of $27.5 million, set by the New York Yankees’ Alex Rodriguez as part of a 10-year agreement that he signed in December 2007. While Roger Clemens had a contract with a listed salary of $28 million with the Yankees in 2007, he joined the team in June and actually made $17.4 million for the year.
“Obviously, there’s going to be a lot of expectations, as it should be if your salary’s out there and you’re one of the highest paid players in the game,” said Kershaw. “That’s fine with me. I understand those expectations and I look forward to try to live up to them.”
The Dodgers felt that Kershaw was worth the cash, and wanted to avoid him reaching unrestricted free agency. He could have been on the open market after the 2014 season.
“A big, big factor for us that really was a positive for us is Clayton’s age,” Dodgers President Stan Kasten said. “I’d feel differently doing this contract with a player that’s in his mid-30s. It doesn’t make it fool-proof, there are still risks.”
Kershaw went 16-9, with league leading marks of 232 strikeouts and a 1.83 ERA for the Dodgers last year. He has led the NL in ERA in each of the last three years.
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