Ted Williams once asked the Boston Red Sox for a pay cut, and then 70 years later, Shohei Ohtani signed for $700 million and agreed to wait a decade to collect most of it. Between those two players' situations, the concept of being the highest paid quietly split into several different metrics over time Swipe through to watch how MLB salaries ballooned over time.

Ted Williams

1950s, Boston Red Sox

When Joe DiMaggio retired after the 1951 season, Williams had the top of the pay scale to himself for the rest of the decade. He signed for a record $125,000 in 1958, and here's the strange part — after a down year, he'd ask the Red Sox to cut his pay.

Willie Mays

1960s, San Francisco Giants

Willie Mays became the first player since DiMaggio to clear $100,000, reaching $105,000 in 1963. He didn't own the decade outright, though. Mickey Mantle nudged ahead in 1962, and Sandy Koufax passed him in 1965 after he and Don Drysdale staged a joint holdout that hinted at labor fights still a decade off.

Reggie Jackson

1970s, New York Yankees

Jackson signed a five-year, $2.96 million deal with the Yankees on Nov. 29, 1976, described as the largest in baseball history at the time. It came as the MLB's reserve clause finally crumbled and players started chasing real money on the open market.

Kirby Puckett

1980s, Minnesota Twins

Kirby Puckett became baseball's first $3 million player, signing with the Twins after the 1989 season. That leap landed harder against the mid-decade collusion scandal, when owners quietly agreed not to bid on free agents and held salaries down until the players' union won damages.

Belle & Brown

1990s White Sox & Dodgers

Albert Belle made more in a single season, about $11.95 million in 1999, among the first players past $10 million a year. Kevin Brown signed the bigger deal — baseball's first $100 million contract for seven years and $105 million with the Dodgers in December 1998.

Alex Rodriguez

2000s, Rangers and Yankees

Rodriguez agreed to a 10-year, $252 million deal with the Rangers on Dec. 11, 2000, the richest in team-sports history to that point. His $25.2 million a year topped the entire 2000 payrolls of the Brewers, Royals and Twins on its own. He opted out and re-signed with the Yankees for 10 years and $275 million in 2007.

Mike Trout

2010s, Los Angeles Angels

Zack Greinke had pushed the yearly record to $34.4 million and Giancarlo Stanton had banked $325 million in total value, then Mike Trout cleared both. His 12-year, $426.5 million deal, announced in March 2019, was baseball's first $400 million contract and the highest average value yet at $35.83 million a season.

Ohtani & Soto

2020s, Dodgers and Mets

Shohei Ohtani's 10-year, $700 million Dodgers deal grabbed the headline, but he deferred $680 million of it and takes just $2 million a year through 2033, which drops the real value to around $460 million. Juan Soto's 15-year, $765 million Mets deal, signed Dec. 8, 2024, carries no deferrals and a $51 million yearly average, the highest ever, depending on how you run the math.