Athlete contracts for the biggest stars in major sports are skyrocketing. It seems like many of the wallet-busting deals signed these days are record-breaking agreements.
That’s the natural progression of sports of course, as teams and their owners bring in more and more revenue year-by-year. But it’s not always the case, as some contracts, mainly in Major League Baseball (MLB) have been absolutely monstrous for many years. The National Basketball Association (NBA) has only recently begun catching up with their lavish Super Max deals.
In comparison to the damage done, National Football League (NFL) stars are paid relatively little. True, their seasons are much shorter than MLB or the NBA, but they put their bodies and brains at more risk. Regardless, some of their biggest contracts have made our list of the 50 biggest contracts in sports history. As a disclaimer, many soccer and other sports stars such as Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo would be on this list, but their contract details are not fully disclosed.
With that established, let’s check out the 50 biggest contracts in sports history…
50. Damian Lillard – Portland Trail Blazers, Basketball:
Lillard signed a five-year contract extension with the Portland Trail Blazers from 2016–2021 in July 2015. The deal was for a total of $139,888,44, averaging $27,977,689 a season and $341,191.33 per regular season game.
He’s been worth every penny as the clear-cut star in Portland. His dagger of a three-point shot that knocked the Denver Nuggets out of this year’s NBA playoffs proves it.