Some MLB contract bonuses look great on paper. Others are attached to awards that don’t exist, positions the player doesn’t play, or leagues they’d never finish the season in. Here are four real incentive clauses that were dead on arrival.
The Gold Glove for a Guy Who Never Took the Field
When Adam Dunn signed with the Chicago White Sox, his contract included a $25,000 bonus for winning a Gold Glove. One small problem: Dunn was a designated hitter. Gold Gloves go to the best defenders at each position — and DH is not a defensive position. In 2011 alone, Dunn appeared in 151 games without ever playing defense. The money stayed in the team’s pocket. It’s the baseball equivalent of offering a bonus for scoring a goal in a tennis match.
Brad Lidge and the Silver Slugger He Could Never Chase
Brad Lidge arrived in Houston as a proven closer — the same reliever who had helped Philadelphia win the 2008 World Series. His contract with the Astros included a $25,000 incentive for winning a Silver Slugger, the award given to the best hitters at each position. Lidge was a reliever. He threw an inning, maybe two. His batting average was essentially irrelevant — relievers don’t bat in the American League, where a designated hitter steps in for them. The Silver Slugger was never a realistic possibility. It was fine print nobody was meant to notice.
Alex Rodriguez and the Award That Doesn’t Exist
During his time with the Texas Rangers, Alex Rodriguez had a $150,000 bonus tied to winning the Division Series MVP. The catch: MLB does not give out a Division Series MVP. There’s an ALCS MVP, an NLCS MVP, and a World Series MVP — but nothing at the Division Series round. The incentive was attached to a ghost award. The money was never at risk of being paid out.
Mark Teixeira’s AL MVP Bonus That Crossed the Wrong League
Mark Teixeira played for the Atlanta Braves in 2007 with a $100,000 bonus for winning the American League MVP. Midway through that season, he was traded to the Texas Rangers — but by then he hadn’t spent enough of his year in the AL to realistically qualify. The moment he changed addresses, the incentive evaporated.
How Does This Happen?
MLB contracts are negotiated between agents and front offices, sometimes under serious time pressure. Incentive clauses can slip through for several reasons:
- A clause copied from another player’s deal without being adapted to the new player’s actual role.
- An agent including a bonus that sounds appealing in negotiations, betting no one will scrutinize it closely.
- A simple communication breakdown during a complex, multi-page agreement.
In every case above, the bonus went uncollected. Dunn never won his Gold Glove. Lidge never touched a Silver Slugger. Rodriguez never claimed an award that doesn’t exist. Teixeira watched his AL MVP clause disappear at the trade deadline.
Why It Still Matters
These aren’t just amusing footnotes. With salaries higher than ever and contracts growing more complex each offseason, the cost of a poorly written clause has only gone up. Teams and agents negotiate hundreds of incentive-laden deals every year, and the fundamentals of those negotiations haven’t changed much — two sides protecting their interests across 20 or more pages of fine print. A player whose camp catches an impossible bonus before signing is simply smarter than the ones who didn’t. And any front office still slipping in awards that don’t exist is making the same mistake Houston made with Lidge nearly two decades ago.
Baseball is a sport built on details. The numbers on the field matter — but so do the numbers buried in the contract. When those numbers are tied to awards nobody can win, the story becomes a lesson in reading every single line.
