Bryce Harper’s dream of a $400 million contract may turn out to be a baseline, not a ceiling.
One American League general manager thinks Harper is in line for something close to $40 million a year, describing a $400 million sum as “light.”
“He is going to get paid. Like, paid paid,” the GM told ESPN’s Eddie Matz. “Four hundred million is light. It’s going to be more than that. If you could sign him to a 15-year contract, you do it. I would say something in the range of $35 million a year, maybe closer to the high 30s. It could approach 40 million dollars a year.”
The GM said Harper’s underwhelming 2016 would prove a distant memory.
“Forgotten,” the GM said. “Last year, he still had the classic walk rate, so you know things were happening positively for him, and you know there was something happening on the injury front. For two of the last three years, if he hasn’t been the best player in the National League, he’s certainly on the short list. He’s one of the best players in the world. He’s one of the youngest players in baseball, and he’s one of the most accomplished.”
Some people scoffed at Harper’s contract expectations when we heard about them. Perhaps that was a mistake. He will, after all, only be 26 when his contract expires after the 2018 season.
