When the Texas Rangers traded for Max Scherzer last season, the New York Mets agreed to cover part of his remaining salary. The Mets are paying $30.83 million, while the Rangers are contributing $12.5 million this season, amounting to approximately $43 million.
However, that’s not the only income Scherzer is receiving this season. July 1 marks the start of the fiscal year for many businesses, and in Major League Baseball, it often triggers large payouts from deferred contracts.
For example, July 1 is known as “Bobby Bonilla Day” in New York, when the Mets pay Bonilla $1.19 million annually through 2035 as part of a deferred contract settlement. Similarly, Hall of Famer Ken Griffey Jr. received a $3.59 million check from the Cincinnati Reds as part of his deferred payments, making him the fifth-highest-paid Red this year. Former Rangers slugger Chris Davis also receives $9.16 million this year in deferred payments from his last contract with the Baltimore Orioles, with $65 million deferred through 2037.
These deferred payments often involve contracts that players did not complete with their original teams, which includes Scherzer. He signed a seven-year, $210 million deal with the Washington Nationals in 2015, which included deferred payments from the beginning. These payments continued even after the Nationals traded him to the Los Angeles Dodgers in 2021.
This year, Scherzer is receiving $15 million in deferred payments from the Nationals, bringing his total earnings for 2024 to nearly $60 million from three different teams.
