Fernando Tatis Jr. put pen to paper on one of the most ambitious contracts in MLB history when the San Diego Padres handed him a 14-year, $340 million fully guaranteed deal in February 2021. What made it truly remarkable: Tatis had played just 143 major league games when he signed it.
The Contract at a Glance
- Team: San Diego Padres
- Signed: February 22, 2021
- Length: 14 years (2021–2034)
- Total guaranteed value: $340 million
- Average annual value: $24.3 million
How the Deal Is Structured
The contract runs from 2021 through 2034 at an average of $24.3 million per season, but it’s back-loaded — the Padres deliberately pushed the bigger payouts toward the end of the deal to ease early payroll pressure. Every dollar is fully guaranteed, meaning Tatis collects the full amount regardless of injuries or performance.
The Fine Print
Fully guaranteed long-term deals are standard for established stars in MLB, but the sheer number of years committed to a player with such a thin big-league résumé made this one stand out. There are no opt-outs or escape clauses, locking Tatis into San Diego for nearly a decade and a half. That rigid structure drew scrutiny when injuries and an 80-game suspension for clostebol — announced in August 2022 — kept him off the field for the entire 2022 season, ultimately costing him around $2.8 million between 2022 and 2023 due to the contract’s back-loaded design.
Where Tatis Ranks Among the Biggest Contracts in MLB History
- #9 — All-time largest contracts by total guaranteed value
- #9 — Among position players only
Rankings based on total guaranteed value without deducting deferred money. Data: Spotrac and Baseball-Reference as of August 11, 2026.
At $340 million, Tatis sits in the conversation with the most ambitious deals ever signed in baseball. His on-field impact during the early years of the contract was limited by injuries, but he remains a cornerstone of San Diego’s long-term plans through 2034.
Before the Megadeal
Tatis’s path to $340 million started when the Chicago White Sox signed him as an international amateur in 2015 — on terms that were never made public. His rise was meteoric: in just over a year in the majors, he had done enough to convince the Padres to bet massive on his future. That leap from an undisclosed international signing bonus to one of the largest contracts in baseball history speaks to how quickly Tatis established himself as an elite prospect.
Why This Contract Still Gets Debated
The Padres committed $340 million over 14 years to a player with fewer than 150 MLB games under his belt. Tatis didn’t play a single game in 2022 — first because of a fractured left wrist, then because of the 80-game clostebol suspension. Because the deal is back-loaded, he lost roughly $2.8 million across 2022 and 2023. It remains one of the most talked-about contracts in modern baseball, for better or worse.
