How Much Will Yankees' Aaron Judge Sign For? MLB Agents, Executives Weigh In
New York Yankees superstar Aaron Judge picked a perfect time to post one of the best statistical seasons in Major League Baseball history, doing so on the last year of his current deal.
Now the 30-year-old is primed for a new contract, and he will not come cheap for potential suiters. The New York Post's Jon Heyman did some digging to get a read on just how expensive Judge will be this winter.
"Yankees superstar Aaron Judge won the bet on himself, and won big," Heyman wrote Thursday. "The consensus seems to be that the baseline deal Judge will get this winter is $300 million -- or $86.5 million more than the Yankees offered in spring. And he may well get more."
Yankees' general manager Brian Cashman initially offered a seven-year deal worth $213.5 million, which Judge rightfully declined.
Of the four agents cited in the article, the predicted average total value for Judge's upcoming contract was $322 million.
One agent threw out the idea that the highest Judge could obtain is $400 million, while another expected the deal to be for eight seasons with an average annual value of $37.5 million ($300 million total).
The upcoming contract negotiations for Judge will be somewhat of an enigma, as there is little precedence for paying such a ridiculous sum of money for a player in his 30s, and none of them worked out.
"The current belief is that the Yankees prefer not to go to $40 million a year -- or certainly not to $400 million total for Judge, who is 30, as they recall the lengthy deals for 30-somethings Miguel Cabrera and Albert Pujols, and certainly their own Alex Rodriguez," Heyman wrote.
Judge is bound to get a massive deal this winter, but it could be a catastrophe. Cabrera and Pujols were some of the best pure hitters in the history of the game when they signed historic contracts, and did not come close to living up to their deals. Both were paid for their past and not their upcoming years.
Rodriguez's contract was filled with PED-related drama, so his situation is not a fair comparison for Judge.
That said, Judge has taken much better care of his body than the aforementioned trio, as he is in far better shape than Cabrera and Pujols, and has not consumed any form of PEDs to our knowledge. Given his frame, it's safe to assume he doesn't need any.
While the precedence of success on similar deals is not there, one organization is going to pull the trigger on a massive deal, and when they do, Judge will do everything in his power to not only live up to the deal but break the mold of older players receiving enormous contracts.
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