Manny Machado has agreed to one of the biggest contracts in sports history, but there is growing speculation that Bryce Harper will break the MLB record and surpass $325 million

Cork Gaines

February 19, 2019 7:18 PM

Manny Machado

Manny Machado has agreed to the largest free-agent contract in North American sports history, signing a 10-year, $300 million deal with the San Diego Padres.
The record may be short-lived as speculation is growing that Bryce Harper will surpass Giancarlo Stanton's $325 million contract, the largest for any player in MLB history.
Agent Scott Boras may have to get creative to push the final number over the record mark.
The Philadelphia Phillies are considered the favorite to land Harper.

One of MLB's major free agents that everybody has been watching has finally signed a contract, and it turns out to be a record, and the next one is expected to be even bigger.

Manny Machado has signed with the San Diego Padres, according to Jeff Passan of ESPN .

Mark Feinsand of MLB.com reports that the contract is 10 years and worth $300 million, one of the largest deals in sports history, and a record for a free agent in North American sports .

However, that record may be short-lived.

Baseball's other major free agent still on the market, Bryce Harper, may also be closing in on a contract, and according to Buster Olney of ESPN, there is a growing belief that it would break Giancarlo Stanton's record for the largest in MLB history.

"It does seem like, in talking with sources, that Harper's negotiations have accelerated," Olney said during an appearance on "Get Up." "In the last 48 hours, in talking with agents who are not involved in this process, but are watching it like Wall Street brokers, and their assessment is that, yes, in the end, Bryce Harper will set a Major League Baseball record for the biggest deal ever."

Stanton signed a 13-year, $325 million contract with the Miami Marlins following the 2014 season.

Olney also adds that the Phillies are still the favorite to sign Harper.

Machado's deal includes an opt-out after five years, according to Tim Brown of Yahoo . Olney speculated that Agent Scott Boras might have to be even more creative to get Harper over the $325 million mark.

"Whether it is some smoke-and-mirrors, deferred money, however, you know Scott Boras will work to get it over that $325 (million) and to set a new record," Olney said.

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