Betts will not receive all money from Dodgers until 2044

AP Published 10:03 p.m. ET July 23, 2020

Mookie Betts will not receive all of his money from his $365 million, 12-year contract with the Los Angeles Dodgers until he is approaching his 52nd birthday in 2044, according to contract details obtained by The Associated Press.

He has a $65 million signing bonus that is guaranteed against work stoppages and shortened seasons such as this one, but the Dodgers don’t have to start paying the signing bonus for more than a year.

His deal includes $115 million in deferred payments. If he is traded, though, the deferrals would be eliminated and the money would be due in each season the contract covers. He does not have a no-trade provision.

Betts, who agreed to the deal Wednesday, already had a $27 million, one-year contract he agreed to with Boston in January and would have been eligible for free agency after this season. The Red Sox dealt him to the Dodgers in February along with pitcher David Price, who decided to sit out this season due to the coronavirus. Because of the shortened season, Betts’ prorated salary this year is $10 million.

The 2018 AL MVP gets his signing bonus in annual installments each Nov. 1 from 2021-35: $5 million each of the first 12 years, $2 million apiece in 2033 and 2034 and a final payment of $1 million. Because Betts is not a California resident, that money will not be subject to state income tax in California, which has a top marginal rate of 12.3%.

A four-time All-Star and four-time Gold Glove outfielder. Betts receives salaries of $17.5 million each in 2021 and 2022, $20 million in 2023, $25 million in each of the next four seasons, $30 million annually from 2028-30 and $27.5 million in each of the last two years.

His deal calls for $8 million to be deferred each year from 2021-25, $10 million in both 2026 and 2027, and $11 million in each of the last five seasons, The money is payable each July 1 from 2033-44: $8 million for the first five payments, $10 million for the next two and $11 million for the final five.

Betts agreed to make a charitable contribution of $100,000 annually. He gets a hotel suite on road trips.

His new deal is baseball’s second-largest in total dollars behind the $426.5 million, 12-year contract for Los Angeles Angels outfielder Mike Trout covering 2019-30.

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