New York Yankees’ superstar Aaron Judge just signed a record-breaking deal. The deal consists of a nine-year, $360M contract, with an average annual salary (AAV) of $40 million. This makes him the highest-paid position player in MLB history by AAV. Judge’s new signing is the third-highest overall contract in MLB history, only behind Mookie Betts at $365 million and Mike Trout at number one, totaling $426.5M. 

Before breaking the AL home-run record with a remarkable 62 home runs, Judge was offered a seven-year, $213.5 million extension, which would have earned him about $30 million per year. Judge had faith in himself to have a great season but had an extraordinary one to earn himself nearly $150 million more than the extension he turned down. 

Judge’s 2022 season was something special. Judge’s accomplishments included becoming a four-time all-star, and he had viewers from all over the world tune in to watch him break Roger Maris’ AL and “clean” home run record, being crowned AL MVP winner, and fell just short of the triple crown. Judge only finished in second place in batting average, behind Minnesota’s Luis Arraez, who hit .316. Judge finished at .311. In conclusion, he led all of baseball in the following offensive categories in 2022: runs scored, home runs, RBIs, walks, total bases, on-base percentage, slugging percentage, OPS, OPS+, and wRC+.

Besides his outstanding offense, Judge played Gold Glove-caliber defense in center field along with right field. He was worth over 11 wins this past season. 

The AL MVP award was mainly between Judge and Shohei Ohtani. Although Ohtani both pitched and hit, he did win last year’s MVP award. Most believe that it was Judge’s time to shine this year.

Judge went into a major slump when nearing the end of the 2022 regular season and most of the playoffs. It would be unnatural to not be in a slump when you have people stopping what they’re doing to watch your at-bat, the whole stadium on its feet awaiting the spectacular moment, and captivating the whole baseball world. That’s a whole lot of pressure on somebody no matter who they are. Especially in New York, it’s a tough place to play. The fans even took it as far as booing him in the playoffs. 

Considering it is so tough playing in New York, it very well could have contributed to him wanting to play elsewhere. The San Francisco Giants were reportedly all in on Judge, Offering $360 million dollars. The Padres, another team who displayed interest in Judge, offered him $400M over the course of 10 years. Those teams were a big threat to the Yankees, considering he grew up rooting for the Giants in San Francisco, and his family is from there as well. 

There were a lot of reasons for Judge to leave New York, but by staying with the Yanks, he showed that he cares more about baseball than money. By staying in New York, he has the chance to continue his Hall of Fame trajectory. He may also have the potential to join some of the baseball greats such as Mickey Mantle, Derek Jeter, and Mariano Rivera who spent their entire careers in the Bronx.

There have been some mixed reactions from Yankees fans. Without Judge, the team would not have made it as far as they did. When you think Yankees you think Judge, so it would definitely be strange for him to go elsewhere. Taking into account that Judge is 6’7”, and 280 pounds, he is at big risk for injury. There have been multiple complaints from fans that they’ve had him for this long and still haven’t won a World Series with him. 

Where do you stand with his contract? The Yankees have many more moves to come as they look to improve their starting rotation, outfield, and bullpen.