Deferred payments may have been the difference between Bryce Harper signing with the Philadelphia Phillies and not the Washington Nationals.
The Nationals initially offered Harper a 10-year deal worth $300 million before the end of the 2018 season, however, he rejected the offer to test free agency. He ultimately signed with the Phillies for $330 million over 13 years. Doing the hard math, the Nationals’ offer appeared to have a higher annual average. However, there was more than meets the eye.
According to Barry Svrluga of the Washington Post, the Nationals’ offer contained roughly $100 million in deferred payments. That would make the deal more like $200 million over 10 years.
What makes the Nationals’ offer even more insane is payments would have been deferred to pay Harper until he was 60 years of age.
The Nationals presented the offer as a take it or leave it. Given the details, it’s clear why Harper left the offer on the table. As his free agency lingered with teams such as the Chicago White Sox, San Francisco Giants, and Los Angeles Dodgers being in the mix at some point.
Any word of deferred payments in baseball brings to mind Bobby Bonilla and his contract with the New York Mets which pays him $1.19 million every year until 2035 — 36 years after he last played with the Mets. However, the Nationals are known for their deferred payment contracts.
Max Scherzer, the club’s ace, is signed through 2021 but will receive payments from the Nationals until 2028. Stephen Strasburg, Daniel Murphy, and Matt Wieters also have deferred payment contract. Murphy and Wieters are no longer on the team. None of which are structured to pay them to the age of 60.
Harper’s deal with the Phillies is structured better with no deferrals. He will receive $10 million in salary in 2019 and a $20 million signing bonus. He will then receive $26 million 2020-2028 before getting $22 million from 2029-2031.
The Nationals’ reported offer sounds silly in comparison. And it’s clear why Harper rejected the offer last year. Now, the Lerner family will have to deal with the consequences of letting their franchise player walk out of the door for nothing in return.
