(Bloomberg) -- The Los Angeles Angels and All-Star outfielder Mike Trout are finalizing a new 12-year contract extension worth more than $430 million, which would be the richest deal ever awarded to an athlete, according to ESPN.
The deal is superlative in every way. The $430 million total would top the Major League Baseball-record $330 million deal that outfielder Bryce Harper signed with the Philadelphia Phillies last month. The per-year average of $36 million would also be an MLB record.
It also exceeds the 11-fight, $365 million contract that boxer Canelo Alvarez signed with streaming startup DAZN in 2018, previously considered the richest single-athlete contract ever.
Now 27, Trout is the best player in baseball by almost all measures. He has won two American League most-valuable-player awards and finished second four more times. He's been an All-Star in every full season he's played.
Trout's deal would potentially keep him in an Angels uniform through the 2030 season, after which he'll be 39. Under his current contract, he's eligible to be a free agent in 2020.
It would be the third monster deal of the MLB offseason, following Harper and Manny Machado, who signed a 10-year, $300 million deal with the San Diego Padres.
Players and owners are sparring over the changing economics of free agency, where some players are getting paid less than expected.
To contact the reporter on this story: Eben Novy-Williams in New York at enovywilliam@bloomberg.net
To contact the editors responsible for this story: Nick Turner at nturner7@bloomberg.net, John J. Edwards III, Rob Golum
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