KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The Kansas City Royals agreed with shortstop Bobby Witt Jr. on an 11-year deal worth more than $288.7 million guaranteed, two people familiar with the contract told The Associated Press on Monday, locking up one of baseball’s young stars as the club tries to turn around its fortunes and persuade a weary fanbase to invest in a new stadium.
The deal includes a three-year, $89 million team option that would drive the value to more than $377 million and keep Witt in Kansas City through the 2037 season, according to the people, who spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity because the financial terms were not disclosed. Witt’s guaranteed salary makes it the 16th-largest current deal in Major League Baseball and second-biggest pre-arbitration agreement behind the 14-year, $340 million contract the Padres gave Fernando Tatis Jr. last April.
The Royals planned a Tuesday news conference to discuss the longest and richest deal in club history.
It includes a signing bonus riffing off Witt’s lucky jersey No. 7 of $7,777,777, payable in seven installments, with the first due within 60 days of the contract’s approval by the commissioner’s office. Witt will receive $2 million this year, then in the three years he would have been eligible for arbitration: $7 million in 2025, $13 million in 2026 and $19 million in 2027.
Witt will earn $30 million in 2028, the first year after he would have been eligible for free agency, and $35 million each in 2029 and ‘30. He has four player options at $35 million annually from 2031-34, then the Royals have their three-year team option that would pay $33 million in 2035 and $28 million each in 2036 and ‘37.
If all the options are included, Witt would be 37 by the time the contract expires.