Mike Trout could be about to land the biggest deal any professional athlete has ever signed.
The Los Angeles Angels center fielder and MVP is reportedly finalizing a 12-year, $430 million deal with the team, all but ensuring he would finish out his career as an Angel, according to a report on ESPN.
The deal far surpasses the previous sports contract record, which is held by boxer Canelo Alvarez and is valued at $365 million. And it blows the 13-year, $300 million deal Bryce Harper signed with the Phillies earlier this month out of the water. Ditto Manny Machado’s $300 million deal with the Padres.
The tax bite on a deal that big is downright bonkers, though. If Trout was a California resident, noted CPA Robert Raiola on Twitter, he would pocket less than half of the contract’s amount, netting $214 million once he had paid his state and federal income taxes. (Trout’s believed to be a New Jersey state resident, though, which could lower the tax bill. The Garden State caps out at 8.97% versus California’s 13.3%.)
Trout, aged 27, has played professional baseball for seven years and has won two American League Most Valuable Player awards while with the Angels and is a seven-time All Star. He was set to become a free agent during the 2020 season and teams were reportedly already wooing him.
