Bryce Harper signed a 13 year, $330,000,000 contract with the Philadelphia Phillies heading into the 2019 season. The deal included a $20,000,000 signing bonus, and $330,000,000 guaranteed. Over 13 years, that’s an annual average salary of $25,384,615.

For the 2022 season, Harper will earn a base salary of $26,000,000 while carrying a total salary of $27,538,462. Shout out Spotrac for breaking that all down because I’m terrible at math. Harper is locked in with the Phillies until 2031. He will become an unrestricted free agent in 2032. With his contract, come the following notes:

• No deferred money
• Full no-trade clause
• $20 million Signing Bonus (paid in two installments, June 1 and Nov 1)
• Award Bonuses
  • $500,000 for MVP ($50,000 for 2nd, $25,000 for 3rd)
  • $100,000 for WS MVP
  • $50,000 each for All Star, Gold Glove, Silver Slugger, LCS MVP

As we are in the midst of another free agency, big-money deals are rolling in ahead of the expiration of Major League Baseball’s collective bargaining agreement. Max Scherzer landed a three year $130 million contract with the New York Mets. Robbie Ray was given a five year $115 million contract with the Seattle Mariners and Corey Seager was giving a 10 year $325 million contract from the Texas Rangers.

There are plenty more contracts to come. Big free agent names such as Kris Bryant and Nick Castellanos (please Phillies) are definitely going to get big money as well. When looking at where we currently stand for 2022, here’s the Top 20 MLB players and their AAV.

1. Max Scherzer, New York Mets: $43,333,333

2. Gerrit Cole, New York Yankees: $36 million

3. Mike Trout, Los Angeles Angels: $35,541,667

T-4. Stephen Strasburg, Washington Nationals: $35 million

T-4. Anthony Rendon, Los Angeles Angels: $35 million

6. Francisco Lindor, New York Mets: $34.1 million

7. Trevor Bauer, Los Angeles Dodgers: $34 million

T-8. Corey Seager, Texas Rangers: $32.5 million

T-8. Nolan Arenado, St. Louis Cardinals: $32.5 million

T-10. Miguel Cabrera, Detroit Tigers: $31 million

T-10. David Price, Los Angeles Dodgers: $31 million

12. Mookie Betts, Los Angeles Dodgers: $30,416,667

13. Manny Machado, San Diego Padres: $30 million

14. Chris Sale, Boston Red Sox: $29 million

15. Jacob deGrom, New York Mets: $27.5 million

16. Christian Yelich, Milwaukee Brewers: $26,928,571

17. Paul Goldschmidt, St. Louis Cardinals: $26 million

18. Bryce Harper, Philadelphia Phillies: $25,384,615

T-19 Giancarlo Stanton, New York Yankees: $25 million

T-19. Marcus Semien, Texas Rangers: $25 million

T-19. Justin Verlander, Houston Astros: $25 million

T-19. George Springer, Toronto Blue Jays: $25 million

Your 2021 National League MVP is ranked 18th overall in AAV heading into the 2022 season and will likely drop out of the Top 20 once a few other big name free agents fall off the board. Bryce Harper slashed .309/.429/.615 with 35 home runs and 84 RBI with National League leading OPS of 1.044.

After the All-Star break, Harper hit 20 home runs and 49 extra-base hits. He had a .476 OBP, a slugging percentage of .713, and a second-half OPS of 1.188.

Harper took home the Hank Aaron Award, Silver Slugger Award, Outstanding National League Player Award, and landed himself on the All-MLB First Team to go along with his MVP. Not bad for a franchise cornerstone who is barely in the Top 20 of average annual salaries.

The Phillies have a ton of work to do and have been completely silent in the early-goings of free agency. With a new CBA and a potential lockout looming, it will be interesting to see what Dave Dombrowski and the Phillies organization do today ahead of December 1st.