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Royals, SS Bobby Witt Jr. Agree to 11-Year Contract Extension, per Report

This is the largest contract in franchise history.

Madison Williams

Royals, SS Bobby Witt Jr. Agree to 11-Year Contract Extension, per Report
Royals, SS Bobby Witt Jr. Agree to 11-Year Contract Extension, per Report /
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The Kansas City Royals and shortstop Bobby Witt Jr. agreed to a 11-year, $288.8 million contract extension, ESPN’s Jeff Passan reported on Monday.

Witt has opt-outs after the seventh through 10th years of his 11-year contract. The contract also has a three-year club option, which would raise the deal to 14 years and $377.7 million.

This becomes the largest contract in Royals franchise history for the 23-year-old who’s entering his third year in the league.

Witt confirmed the news with a simple post to social media shortly after Passan reported it, a gif of Leonardo DiCaprio in The Wolf of Wall Street saying “I’m not leaving.” 

In his second season in 2023, Witt averaged .276/.319/.495 with 30 home runs, 96 RBI and 49 stolen bases in 158 games played. He led the team in runs (97), hits (177), home runs and RBI.

Witt was taken with the No. 2 pick in the 2019 MLB draft, and instantly became one of baseball’s most eagerly anticipated star prospects. He quickly made his way up to the majors, making his Royals debut on Opening Day in ’22.

Kansas City is coming off of its worst season (56–106) since the ’05 season.

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Madison Williams
MADISON WILLIAMS

Madison Williams is a staff writer on the Breaking and Trending News team at Sports Illustrated, where she specializes in tennis but covers a wide range of sports from a national perspective. Before joining SI in 2022, Williams worked at The Sporting News. Having graduated from Augustana College, she completed a master’s in sports media at Northwestern University. She is a dog mom and an avid reader.

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