Yankees, Aaron Judge Will Reportedly Not Reach Contract Agreement Before Deadline

If agreed upon, the new deal would make the outfielder the highest paid position player in franchise history.

Aaron Judge’s contract extension deadline with the Yankees is set before the team’s first pitch on Friday at 1:05 p.m. ET. However, ESPN’s Jeff Passan reported on Friday morning that the right fielder and the team will likely not reach an agreement before the deadline.

Barring a significant change in the next few hours, Aaron Judge and the New York Yankees will not strike a contract extension before his deadline of first pitch today, sources tell ESPN. The Yankees have proposed a deal for more than $225 million, but the sides remain apart.

— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) April 8, 2022

This update comes soon after it was reported that Judge’s offered contract would set the Yankees franchise record for a position player if agreed upon, according to reports from multiple MLB insiders.

The contract details are not yet official, but the offer includes a multi-year deal that could reach up to $225 million. Judge’s annual salary would be at least $28 million. 

Average annual value on latest offer is at least $28 million, source confirms. https://t.co/YdPVwXfEGk

— Jon Morosi (@jonmorosi) April 8, 2022

This amount would be quite the jump for the 30-year-old as he will earn $17 million this season, according to Spotrac. 

The record deal for a Yankees player is currently pitcher Gerrit Cole, who earns around $36 million per year on his nine-year, $324 million contract. Former Yankee outfielder Alex Rodriguez earned $27.5 million per year on a 10-year deal signed in 2007. Judge’s would just barely surpass this.

If Judge and the Yankees come to an agreement on the proposed amount, then he would only trail Mike Trout ($35.54 million) and Mookie Betts ($30.4 million) in terms of annual salary for current outfielders.

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