Braves Sign 1B Matt Olson to Eight-Year, $168 Million Contract Extension

After landing the All-Star in a blockbuster trade, Atlanta locks in Olson for the next eight seasons.

A day after swinging a blockbuster trade to land Matt Olson from the A's, the Braves have made another sizable commitment to keep the All-Star first baseman in Atlanta.

The Braves have agreed to an eight-year, $168 million contract extension with Olson, the team announced on Tuesday. The deal was first reported by Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic.

The deal runs through the 2029 season, with a $20 million team option for 2030. Olson will make $15 million in 2022, $21 million in 2023 and $22 million per year for the remainder of the deal. The contract keeps Olson under team control through his age-36 season.

Atlanta acquired Olson from Oakland on Monday in exchange for outfielder Cristian Pache, catcher Shea Langeliers, starting pitcher Ryan Cusick and starting pitcher Joey Estes. Pache is a former top prospect lauded for his defense, while Langeliers was the No. 9 overall pick in the 2019 draft. Cusick was the No. 24 pick in the 2021 draft, while Estes is a 20-year-old right-handed pitcher who had a 2.91 ERA across 20 starts at Single-A last season.

Olson's arrival in Atlanta likely brings about the end of Freddie Freeman's tenure with the Braves. Freeman, still a free agent, has spent his entire career with Atlanta after being drafted in the second round by the team in 2007.

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Nick Selbe
NICK SELBE

Nick Selbe is a programming editor at Sports Illustrated who frequently writes about baseball and college sports. Before joining SI in March 2020 as a breaking/trending news writer, he worked for MLB Advanced Media, Yahoo Sports and Bleacher Report. Selbe received a bachelor's in communication from the University of Southern California.