Mookie Betts contract with Dodgers is 12 years, worth a reported $365 million

The rumored “massive” deal between the Dodgers and superstar outfielder Mookie Betts is now reportedly agreed to, and the adjective was apt. Betts will stay in Los Angeles with a 12-year contract extension, announced by the team on Wednesday.

The contract is worth $365 million, per Jeff Passan at ESPN and Joel Sherman at the New York Post.

Betts is making $10 million this season, the pro-rated share of his $27 million salary spread over the shortened 60-game season. He’s now signed through the 2032 season.

It’s the largest contract in franchise history, both in length (surpassing the eight-year deals for Matt Kemp in 2012 and Kenta Maeda in 2016) and in total value (surpassing the $215 million contract Clayton Kershaw signed in 2014).

Betts’ contract is second in baseball history in total value to Mike Trout, whose 12-year, $426.5 million extension with the Angels in March 2019 replaced the final two years and $66.5 million he had remaining on his previous deal. Trout’s deal added $360 million in guaranteed money, $5 million less than Betts.

In average annual value, Betts’ deal is the 14th in MLB history of at least $30 million per year, per Cot’s Contracts, a list that includes his current Dodgers teammates Clayton Kershaw and David Price.

The Dodgers were in a position to make such a commitment because they have very few long-term deals on the books. Betts is only the fourth guaranteed contract on the roster for 2022, along with Price ($32 million, $16 million of which is paid by Boston), Max Muncy ($11.5 million), and A.J. Pollock ($10 million). After that, the only other guaranteed money is Pollock, who has a $10 million player option for 2023, with a $5 million buyout.

There will also be several arbitration-eligible players by then, most notably Cody Bellinger and Walker Buehler, but as far as long-term money committed, the Dodgers had and have plenty of room to add.