In 2024, outfielders are among the highest earners in the sport.
With notable names like Aaron Judge, Mike Trout, and Mookie Betts in the top five, retaining this level of talent requires significant financial investment.
The Mets’ newly signed slugger Juan Soto takes the top spot, earning $51 million.
The landmark contract, signed on December 8th, is worth $765 million. Already the most lucrative contract in MLB history, it features escalators and no deferrals that could raise its total value to $820 million.
Aaron Judge, one of the most formidable hitters in baseball, is second, earning $40 million annually. Last year, Judge signed a massive nine-year, $360 million contract to remain with the Yankees.
Following Judge is Mike Trout, often regarded as one of the greatest baseball players of his generation. The three-time AL MVP signed a twelve-year, $426.5 million contract with the Angels in 2019.
Trailing Trout in the fourth spot is Mookie Betts, marquee right fielder for the Dodgers. In 2020, Betts signed a 12-year, $365 million contract extension with Los Angeles.
Fifth is the Brewers’ Christian Yelich, making $26.93 million annually. Yelich signed a seven-year, $188.5 million contract in 2020.
After combining their salaries, Juan Soto will outearn two of his new Mets teammates who made the list by over $11 million.
Top 25 Highest-Paid Outfielders
Here is the full list of the top 25 highest-paid MLB outfielders by average salary. The list was compiled using data from Spotrac.
- Updated: December 9th, 2024
| Rank | Player | Team | Compensation |
| 1 | Juan Soto | New York Mets | $51 million |
| 2 | Aaron Judge | New York Yankees | $40 million |
| 3 | Mike Trout | Los Angeles Angels | $35.54 million |
| 4 | Mookie Betts | Los Angeles Dodgers | $30.42 million |
| 5 | Christian Yelich | Milwaukee Brewers | $26.93 million |
| 6 | Cody Bellinger | Chicago Cubs | $26.67 million |
| 7 | Kris Bryant | Colorado Rockies | $26 million |
| T-8 | George Springer | Toronto Blue Jays | $25 million |
| T-8 | Giancarlo Stanton | New York Yankees | $25 million |
| 10 | Fernando Tatis Jr. | San Diego Padres | $24.29 million |
| 11 | Ian Happ | Chicago Cubs | $20.33 million |
| 12 | Brandon Nimmo | New York Mets | $20.25 million |
| 13 | Nick Castellanos | Philadelphia Phillies | $20 million |
| 14 | Kyle Schwarber | Philadelphia Phillies | $19.75 million |
| 15 | Starling Marte | New York Mets | $19.5 million |
| 16 | Jung-hoo Lee | San Francisco Giants | $18.83 million |
| 17 | Masataka Yoshida | Boston Red Sox | $18 million |
| 18 | Julio Rodriguez | Seattle Mariners | $17.44 million |
| T-19 | Michael Conforto | Los Angeles Dodgers | $17 million |
| T-19 | Seiya Suzuki | Chicago Cubs | $17 million |
| 21 | Kyle Tucker | Houston Astros | $16.7 million |
| 22 | Andrew Benintendi | Chicago White Sox | $15 million |
| 23 | Tommy Edman | Los Angeles Dodgers | $14.8 million |
| 24 | Mitch Haniger | Seattle Mariners | $14.5 million |
| 25 | Byron Buxton | Minnesota Twins | $14.29 million |
