Breakdowns show that the Atlanta Braves extension with Acuna isn’t too far off Padres deal with Tatis.
The baseball world was shaken with news of the mega-deal that Fernando Tatis Jr. inked with the Padres last week. Many pointed to the Ronald Acuna Jr. pact with the Atlanta Braves and suggested that it was even more of a sweetheart deal than originally thought.
However, now that we have the year-by-year breakdown of Tatis’ deal, it’s actually interesting to see how close these contracts really are when placed side-by-side.
"Mark Feinsand on Twitter: “Here’s the breakdown of Fernando Tatis Jr.’s 14-year, $340M contract, per source: 2021: $1M 2028: $25M 2022: $5M 2029: $36M 2023: $7M 2030: $36M 2024: $11M 2031: $36M 2025: $20M 2032: $36M 2026: $20M 2033: $36M 2027: $25M 2034: $36M” / Twitter"
Tatis is just over a year younger than the 23-year-old Acuna, and both of their contracts take some time before ramping up in cost.
The big difference is that Acuna’s ends just before the really big money might have started, whereas Tatis’ deal continues to a logical conclusion at age 35.
If there’s a true bargain, then, it’s that the Atlanta Braves have a lower cap with Acuna at $17 million of maximum cost, but that number is hit earlier in the process, remaining steady through the end of the deal (including the two option years).
Here are the numbers for each player by age, with Acuna’s listed first.
- 21: 1 million / (Tatis deal not in effect)
- 22: 1 million / 1 million
- 23: 5 million / 5 million
- 24: 15 million / 7 million
- 25: 17 million / 11 million
- 26: 17 million / 20 million
- 27: 17 million / 20 million
- 28: 17 million / 25 million
- 29: 17 million* / 25 million
- 30: 17 million* / 36 million
- 31-35: (no Acuna contract) / 36 million
* – contract team options, which we’ll assume are going to be exercised. Acuna’s extension began in 2019; Tatis’ deal begins here in 2021.
The Atlanta Braves chose not to go for the mega-length contract
If you go through the two players’ Age 30 seasons, the total club expenditures are $124 million for Acuna and $160 million for Tatis (this latter figure including his $10 million signing bonus).
In other words, the difference (depending on how you count it) is really only about three-to-four million per season — even counting in that hefty signing bonus.
In fact, if you take Tatis’ age 30 salary (vs. Acuna’s) and that signing bonus together… that $29 million accounts for nearly all of the difference in their contracts at that point.
You can argue that Atlanta front-loaded their Acuna contract, as it ramps up more quickly — to $15 million next season (coincident with Ender Inciarte coming off the books). There’s more money sooner for Acuna, but he also peaks at a lower number.
The big difference, of course, is that the Padres went “all in” with their shortstop by adding five more years that Acuna didn’t get with Atlanta.
That said, Acuna will be 31 years old when he hits free agency in 2029 and he will have the opportunity to land his own mega deal at that time… health, performance, and market conditions at the time all being unknown, of course.
So while Tatis is certainly getting more money thanks to a guaranteed contract through age 35, it’s truly not head-and-shoulders above what the Atlanta Braves did for their young star, when you compare the year-for-year figures.
Regardless: can you guess which player is smiling about these figures the most right now? Juan Soto.