The Edmonton Oilers officially announced the signing of captain Connor McDavid to a *massive eight-year extension worth $100 million.
The contract won’t kick in until the 2018-19 campaign, as the 20-year-old still has one year remaining on his entry-level deal.
But once it does, McDavid will have the NHL’s largest cap hit, a $12.5 million average annual value. (Interestingly, despite having the highest AAV, he won’t have the league’s highest actual salary that year—he’ll rank second, right behind Jamie Benn’s $13 million earnings.)
We know where this new deal ranks the Oilers star in terms of the NHL, but how far might that money go in other sports?
Again, McDavid’s deal won’t go into effect until 2018-19, and a lot can happen between now and then. (Read: Some guy named John Tavares will have a new deal with… someone… by then, and potentially bust up this ranking.) Not to mention, there are a number of soon-to-be baseball, basketball and football free agents who are also due for a trip to the bank.
But for the sake of a fun comparison and little exercise in context, here’s how McDavid’s AAV in 2018-19 would compare to those in the MLB, NBA, and NFL for the upcoming season:
MLB
Highest paid player in 2017: Zack Greinke, $34,416,667
The Arizona Diamondbacks’ starting pitcher is in the second year of a six-year deal worth a total of $206,500,000. He’s also projected to have the highest average salary in 2018, but with a big group of elite ball players set to hit free agency after next season—Bryce Harper, Manny Machado, Clayton Kershaw to name a few—we’ll almost definitely have a new king in 2019.
Where McDavid’s deal fits in: No. 98
According to sportrac.com a whopping 98 Major League Baseball players are earning more this year than McDavid will when he starts getting paid the big bucks in 2018-19, including six Blue Jays (Jose Bautista, Russell Martin, Troy Tulowitzki, Josh Donaldson, Francisco Liriano, Marco Estrada). McDavid’s $12.5 million AAV lands him alongside the Nationals’ Daniel Murphy, Brewers’ Matt Garza, Giants’ Brandon Crawford, Orioles’ Ubaldo Jiminez and slugger Mark Trumbo.
NBA
Highest-paid player in 2017-18: Steph Curry, $40,231,758
Curry will go from being a bargain in 2016-17 to the NBA’s biggest earner when his historic five-year, $201-million contract with the Golden State Warriors is made official.
Where McDavid’s deal fits in: No. 90
A basketball-playing McDavid would be the 90th highest-paid player on the court, earning the same average salary as Jordan Clarkson, Patrick Mills, Miles Plumlee, Kenneth Faried, and Tyler Johnson, per sportrac.
https://twitter.com/FriedgeHNIC/status/882677312424116228
NFL
Highest-paid player in 2017-18: Derek Carr, $25 million
Starting this upcoming season, Carr will be the NFL’s top earner, taking the title from Colts quarterback Andrew Luck ($24,594,000). Carr signed a lucrative five-year, $125-million deal with the Raiders last month. Fun fact: Carr’s signing bonus alone is the same as McDavid’s annual earnings.
https://twitter.com/SportsnetSpec/status/882686428983021568
Where McDavid’s deal fits in: No. 58
According to Sportrac, Cardinals free safety Tyrann Mathieu, Giants cornerback Janoris Jenkins and Browns linebacker Jamie Collins will make the same this upcoming season as McDavid will once the puck drops on the 2018-19 campaign.
*Massive in terms of hockey deals, that is. Hence, this article.
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