Dodgers Pitcher Clayton Kershaw Retiring After 18 Seasons

Friday will mark the end of an era in Los Angeles. 

On Thursday, the Dodgers announced that star pitcher Clayton Kershaw will retire at the end of the season after 18 years in the major leagues. The Dodgers selected Kershaw seventh overall in the 2006 MLB Draft, and he spent his entire career with the organization. 

Kershaw’s final start of the regular season at Dodger Stadium will be on Friday against the Giants. The Dodgers currently lead the National League wildcard race, but it’s unlikely Kershaw will be in the team’s postseason rotation despite a 10–2 record with a 3.53 earned run average. 

Kershaw, 37, is one of the most dominant pitchers of his generation. An 11-time All-Star, Kershaw won three Cy Young Awards, the National League MVP Award in 2014, the Pitching Triple Crown in 2011, and led the National League in earned run average five times. He is one of just 20 pitchers to reach the 3,000 strikeout mark. He won the World Series with the Dodgers in 2020 and was injured during the team’s 2024 title. 

His earnings are as historic as his resume. He’s made roughly $315 million in his career, according to Spotrac, which ranks fourth all-time among pitchers. Kershaw played high school football at Highland Park in Dallas with Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford, and in 2017, the duo had the rare distinction of being the highest-paid players in their respective leagues. 

Kershaw made $35.5 million that season, which was then the highest salary in MLB, while Stafford had just become the highest-paid player in NFL history with a five-year, $135 million contract that had an average annual value of $27 million.