Chris Davis announced his retirement this week, and he’s got a nice payout plan from the Orioles on the horizon.
Once upon a time, Chris Davis was one of the more prolific power hitters in baseball. Twice in a three-season span (2013 and 2015), he led the majors in home runs. From 2012-2016, he averaged 39 home runs per season.
This week, after 14 major league seasons, Davis announced his retirement. He had not played this season due to hip issues, as injuries generally derailed his career in recent years.
In the midst of his prime run, Davis signed a seven-year, $161 million contract extension with the Baltimore Orioles. The team can take solace that the deal mercifully ends after the 2022 season, but Davis will be see all of what he’s owed after retirement.
Chris Davis is heading toward his Bobby Bonilla-style payout plan
As USA TODAY’s Bob Nightengale and Spotrac, Davis already had deferred money coming to him.
After receiving his full $23 million salary in 2022, here’s a breakdown of Davis’ payout schedule. He will be 51 years old when he collects the final payment from the Orioles, totaling $42 million in deferred money.
The most famous case of deferred payments seemingly for an eternity is Bobby Bonilla. He started collecting about $1.2 million from the New York Mets every July 1 in 2011, and he’ll do so until 2035. The Orioles are also involved in some of Bonilla’s deferred money pay out through 2028, since they acquired him from the Mets and split a chunk of money.
MLB teams sometimes put big chunks of deferred money into big contracts (the Washington Nationals do it for practically every big contract they do). It’s a solid idea for players, to spread out payments and bringing them some cash flow after a contract is done or well after their career is over. Davis was forced to retire earlier than he would’ve liked due to injuries, but his upcoming 15-year payout schedule eases some level of pain.