Mookie Betts Denies Report That Red Sox Made Him $300 Million Offer Before Trade

Betts has conflicted his own quote from years ago

Scott Neville | Aug 24, 2023

Mookie Betts Denies Report That Red Sox Made Him $300 Million Offer Before Trade /

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The Boston Red Sox fanbase will never get over the loss of homegrown superstar Mookie Betts.

As Betts returns to Fenway Park on Friday for the first time since his departure, fans and media alike are using this time to open up old wounds. Even Betts himself is feeding back into the conversation when The Boston Globe's Pete Abraham asked him about the longstanding rumor that he turned down a 10-year, $300 million contract to remain in Boston.

“That never happened,” Betts told Abraham. “I know that’s out there and people say what they’ve got to say. But no, they didn’t do that. They didn’t.”

Betts also was clear that wanted to finish his career with the Red Sox prior to being traded to the Los Angeles Dodgers.

“Most people don’t believe it. But why would I lie about that? I did,” Betts said. “That was my team. Just because I didn’t take an offer didn’t mean I didn’t want to be there. There’s a business component to the game.

“We were looking for houses in Boston. We thought it was going to work out. I thought both sides were playing the slow game and it would eventually work out. We were negotiating, that’s what I thought.”

The narrative that Betts wanted out seemingly came out of nowhere and never had any substantive proof behind it. However, Betts was asked about the storied $300 million contract offer in 2020 and did not deny it at all.

"(Betts) reportedly rejected a series of extension offers from the Red Sox, including a package worth $300 million, The Athletic's Andy McCullough wrote. "The choice did not haunt him, he said."

“I don’t regret turning down that,” Betts told McCullough years ago. “Once I make a decision, I make a decision. I’m not going back and questioning myself."

It's not clear if McCullough specifically mentioned a $300 million offer but he did phrase it as if Betts was directly asked about it in his story.

Regardless, it's been almost four seasons since Betts departed for Los Angeles -- and while it makes sense to come up again amid his return to Boston -- it's also time to put this story to bed.

The former MVP should be remembered for his heroics in Boston, not ridiculed for wanting to get paid fairly.

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Published Aug 24, 2023

SCOTT NEVILLE

Scott Neville covers the Boston Red Sox for Sports Illustrated's new page "Inside The Red Sox." Before starting "Inside The Red Sox", Neville attended Merrimack College, where he earned his Bachelor’s Degree in Communication and Media with a minor in Marketing. Neville spent all four years with Merrimack's radio station WMCK, where he grew as a radio/podcast host and producer. His propensity for being in front of a microphone eventually expanded to film, where he produced multiple short films alongside his then-roommate and current co-worker Stephen Mottram. On a journey that began as a way to receive easy credits via film classes, he received a call from "It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia" star Charlie Day. Day advised him to make a feature-length film, which he completed his senior year. While writing the film, Neville completed an internship for United Way as part of their NFL Partnership Program. Neville ran the blog for a team of interns and hosted an internet show called "United Way's NFL Partnership Series" where he interviewed NFL alumni. After college Neville wrote for SB Nation's "Over The Monster," a Red Sox sister site of the flagship brand. His work would eventually lead him to a job as a content producer with NESN, where he would cover all sports. After developing as a writer with the top regional network in the world, he was given the opportunity to join the Sports Illustrated Media Group in his current endeavor as the publisher of "Inside The Red Sox." The successful launch and quick rise of "Inside The Red Sox" led to Neville joining the Baseball Essential ownership group, a national baseball site under SIMG. Follow him on Twitter: @ScottNeville46 Email: nevilles@merrimack.edu