Dodgers, Betts agree to 12-year extension reportedly worth $365M
The Los Angeles Dodgers and outfielder Mookie Betts agreed to a 12-year extension through 2032, the team announced Wednesday.
The 12-year deal will pay the former MVP $365 million, according to Jeff Passan of ESPN. Including the $27 million Betts is owed in 2020 - before being prorated for the shortened 60-game campaign - the superstar will be paid $392 million over the next 13 years with L.A.
Betts' deal is now the largest extension in baseball history, eclipsing the 10-year, $360-million deal signed by Mike Trout of the Los Angeles Angels, according to Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic. The total value of Trout's deal - which was signed while the three-time MVP had two more years remaining on his contract - is still worth more, however, at a total of $426.5 million.
The deal includes a $65-million signing bonus, according to Rosenthal, who also adds that $115 million is deferred.
Before he was traded to the Dodgers with David Price in February, Betts turned down a reported 10-year, $300-million extension from the Boston Red Sox.
"I don't regret turning down that," Betts said of the rejected offer, according to Andy McCullough of The Athletic. "Once I make a decision, I make a decision. I'm not going back and questioning myself. I don't worry about that."
The 27-year-old was set to hit free agency at the end of the season.
In six MLB campaigns, the Nashville native has cemented himself as one of the league's best players, authoring a .301/.374/.519 slash line with 139 home runs, 470 doubles, and 126 steals.
He is also a four-time All-Star, four-time Gold Glove winner, and the 2018 American League MVP.