The 10 Most Notable Deferred Contracts in MLB Right Now

Yesterday was Bobby Bonilla Day, so it’s a great time to take a look at some of the largest deferred player contracts in Major League Baseball history. For the uninitiated, every July 1, former MLB star Bobby Bonilla receives a $1.19 million deposit in his bank account.

Bonilla was released by the New York Mets in 2000, but the team still owed him $5.9 million. Instead of paying him the full amount immediately, New York chose to defer the payment and spread it out over 25 years (2011-2035). At an 8% interest rate, the original $5.9 million will yield a $30 million payout.

And there are plenty of other MLB teams on the hook for lengthy, expensive deferred payouts. These are some of the juicier ones. See if your favorite player or team is on the list.

Lengthy Deferral Periods

10. Edwin Díaz, RP, Los Angeles Dodgers

• Contract: 3 years, $69,000,000
• Amount Deferred: $13,500,000
• Payout Years: 2036-2047

Our first of many Dodgers. Díaz inked a large contract last December, and what has followed has been months of frustration. After seven disappointing appearances in April, the Dodgers placed him on the injured list with an elbow injury. It’s been a long wait since his April 22 surgery, but word from the Dodgers is that he’s close to facing live hitters again.

When his days in Dodger blue have long passed, they will still be paying him a deferred salary, starting in 2036 and stretching until 2047. The amounts per year will range from $450,000 up to $1,350,000.

9. Dylan Cease, SP, Toronto Blue Jays

• Contract: 7 years, $210,000,000
• Amount Deferred: $64,000,000
• Payout Years: 2033-2046

Cease, in his first year with the Blue Jays, is off to an excellent start, despite a hamstring strain that recently cost him some time. He seems to have found new success in Toronto, after a few up-and-down seasons.

Another thing he’ll find, starting in 2033, is an annual deferred gift from the Jays of about $5,000,000. And from that year until 2046, he will receive roughly that amount until he reaches age 50.

Large Deferred Percentages

8. Zac Gallen, SP, Arizona Diamondbacks

• Contract: 1 year, $22,025,000
• Amount Deferred: $14,025,000
• Payout Years: 2032-2034

These next three contracts are smaller in dollar terms. But they are extraordinary because of the high percentage of deferred salary in the contracts. Gallen signed his current contract in February 2026 for exactly the amount he turned down in the Diamondbacks’ qualifying offer. However, he deferred 63.7% of his contract to a three-year period starting in 2032.

7. Anthony Santander, OF, Toronto Blue Jays

• Contract: 5 years, $92,500,000
• Amount Deferred: $61,750,000
• Payout Years: 2035-2046

Santander has the ultimate “save it for a rainy day” contract. He signed with the Jays in January 2025 on a contract that includes a de-escalating annual salary through 2029. Then, starting in 2035, Santander will receive his deferred compensation in roughly $5,000,000 increments until 2046.

At the end of that period, he will have received 66.8% percent of his current contract in deferred payments.

6. Justin Verlander, SP, Detroit Tigers

• Contract: 1 year, $13,000,000
• Amount Deferred: $11,000,000
• Payout Years: 2030-2039

The future Hall of Famer will probably never have money woes, but he’s stocking up on some deferred cash just in case. The 43-year-old Verlander has been limited to one start this season, and he is giving signals that he may have reached the end of the line.

So, if he does ride off into the sunset at season’s end, he at least has created a little bonus for himself starting in 2030. Because 84.6% of his contract was deferred until the start of the next decade. Verlander will receive annual payments of $1,100,000 until 2039, the year he turns 56.

Most Expensive Deferred Contracts

5. Blake Snell, SP, Los Angeles Dodgers

• Contract: 5 years, $182,000,000
• Amount Deferred: $66,000,000
• Payout Years: 2035-2046

Another Dodger on the list. Snell came to the Dodgers after the 2024 season and has spent considerable time on the injured list. After his first two starts in 2025, he went down with a shoulder injury and missed the next four months of the season.

Fast forward to 2026, and Snell started the season on the shelf with shoulder fatigue. He made one start in May and returned to the injured list a week later with loose bodies in his pitching elbow. He is expected to start a rehab assignment soon. There is concern in the Dodgers front office over a brittle starter who, after a five-year break, will be on the payroll again until he is 53.

4. José Ramírez, 3B, Cleveland Guardians

• Contract: 7 years, $175,000.000
• Amount Deferred: $70,000,000
• Payout Years: 2026-2051

The Cleveland slugger and the Guardians reached an agreement on this contract just this year, and the deferred payout is not satisfied until 2051. His yearly payments from 2036-2051 range from $1.000,000-$7,000,000 and represent 40% of his total salary.

And like Mr. Bonilla, Ramírez will be paid handsomely during his retirement, as he will receive annual Guardian payments until he is the ripe old age of 58.

3. Rafael Devers, 1B/DH, San Francisco Giants

• Contract: 10 years, $313,500,000
• Amount Deferred: $75,000,000
• Payout Years: 2034-2043

This one has to hurt. The Giants are on the hook for paying Devers a significant portion of his contract as a deferred payment. Devers signed this deal with the Red Sox when he was still a poor fielder but a lethal hitter. Now, he is an almost 30-year-old DH/first baseman with less-than-stellar numbers at the plate.

Devers’ 2026 numbers should improve, but the likelihood of the Giants recouping the value of this contract is slim.

Two Dodgers at the Top of the List

2. Mookie Betts, SS, Los Angeles Dodgers

• Contract: 12 years, $365,000,000
• Amount Deferred: $120,000,000
• Payout Years: 2033-2044

Second on the list is Shohei Ohtani’s teammate from the luxury tax-loving Dodgers, Mookie Betts. Mookie has a contract that currently pays him at least $20,000,000 per year through his age-39 season in 2032.

He starts receiving his deferred wages in 2033, with amounts ranging from $8,000,000 to $11,000,000 until 2044, when he will turn 52.

And the Winner is…

1. Shohei Ohtani, DH/SP, Los Angeles Dodgers

• Contract: 10 years, $700,000,000
• Amount Deferred: $680,000,000
• Payout Years: 2034-2043

It’s only fitting that the greatest player in the game should have the largest deferred salary. The Dodgers will pay Ohtani $2 million a year through the 2033 season. His deferred salary will jump to $68,000,000 a year in 2034 and continue at that amount until 2043, the year of his 49th birthday.

Bobby Bonilla

And after reading this article, Bobby Bonilla is somewhere smiling, enjoying his annual check.