Kansas City Royals first baseman Vinnie Pasquantino seemed to go to great lengths for a good goof.
Last week, Pasquantino and the Royals agreed to a two-year contract to avoid arbitration. The New York Post’s Jon Heyman revealed the figures of the deal a few days later.
Pasquantino signed for $4.20 million in 2026, then $6.9 million the following season. Those numbers may not seem too significant at first glance, but the Royals infielder had a plan in mind when he accepted the deal. He reposted Heyman’s report with a telling one-word caption.
“Nice,” Pasquantino wrote.
Nice. https://t.co/aRXg7OIoJb
— Vinnie Pasquantino (@VPasquantino) February 3, 2026
Pasquantino admired his creation like a sculptor appreciating a fine work of art he had just crafted. For those who weren’t able to tell, the contract’s two years include the numbers “420” and “69.”
“If you don’t understand what I’m saying you aren’t on the internet enough so move on,” Pasquantino later added for those who didn’t get the joke.
If you don’t understand what I’m saying you aren’t on the internet enough so move on
— Vinnie Pasquantino (@VPasquantino) February 3, 2026
One has to wonder how those conversations went down behind closed doors. Was Pasquantino initially offered $6.7 million on the second year before eventually negotiating it up to $6.9 million? Had he been willing to sacrifice $200,000, Pasquantino probably would have earned himself a legion of new fans under the age of 13.
Pasquantino does have a chance to increase his final salary figure if he’s able to hit some incentive targets. He could earn an additional $600,000 if he manages to make 550 plate appearances in 2027. He also has some large award bonuses should he score himself some hardware, which means his perfectly meme-able salary could change when it’s all said and done.
