<P> Rodriguez has signed two record - breaking contracts over the course of his career . First , he signed a $252 million , 10 - year contract with the Texas Rangers in December 2000 ( $350,462,609 inflation - adjusted from 2000 dollars ) . Sandy Alderson called the deal `` stupefying '' , while Sports Illustrated noted that Rodriguez 's early salaries under the contract ( $21 million ) would be greater than the annual payroll of the entire Minnesota Twins team that year ( $15.8 million ) . The deal was the largest sports contract in history , doubling the total value of Kevin Garnett 's $126 million National Basketball Association contract ( the previous record holder ) and more than doubling Mike Hampton 's $121 million contract , the previous MLB record which had been signed just days before . The Rangers later traded Rodriguez to the Yankees in exchange for Alfonso Soriano before the 2004 season , though they agreed to pay $67 million of the $179 million outstanding on the contract . Despite this , he opted out of the remainder of his deal after the 2007 season and renegotiated a new $275 million , 10 - year agreement with the Yankees , breaking his own record for the largest sports contract . Under this deal , Rodriguez also receives $6 million each if and when he ties the career home run totals of Willie Mays ( 660 ) , Babe Ruth ( 714 ) , Hank Aaron ( 755 ) , and Barry Bonds ( 762 ) , along with another $6 million for breaking Bonds ' mark . </P>
<P> Rodriguez has signed two record - breaking contracts over the course of his career . First , he signed a $252 million , 10 - year contract with the Texas Rangers in December 2000 ( $350,462,609 inflation - adjusted from 2000 dollars ) . Sandy Alderson called the deal `` stupefying '' , while Sports Illustrated noted that Rodriguez 's early salaries under the contract ( $21 million ) would be greater than the annual payroll of the entire Minnesota Twins team that year ( $15.8 million ) . The deal was the largest sports contract in history , doubling the total value of Kevin Garnett 's $126 million National Basketball Association contract ( the previous record holder ) and more than doubling Mike Hampton 's $121 million contract , the previous MLB record which had been signed just days before . The Rangers later traded Rodriguez to the Yankees in exchange for Alfonso Soriano before the 2004 season , though they agreed to pay $67 million of the $179 million outstanding on the contract . Despite this , he opted out of the remainder of his deal after the 2007 season and renegotiated a new $275 million , 10 - year agreement with the Yankees , breaking his own record for the largest sports contract . Under this deal , Rodriguez also receives $6 million each if and when he ties the career home run totals of Willie Mays ( 660 ) , Babe Ruth ( 714 ) , Hank Aaron ( 755 ) , and Barry Bonds ( 762 ) , along with another $6 million for breaking Bonds ' mark . </P>
who is the highest paid mlb player in history
who is the highest paid mlb player in history
Rodriguez
Rodriguez