The Diamondbacks shocked the baseball world just before the new year, signing ace pitcher Corbin Burnes to a six-year, $210 million contract. Not only does the contract come with an opt-out after two seasons, but also involves heavily deferred money.
Arizona Sports insider and co-host of the Burns & Gambo show John Gambadoro reported the contract details on Saturday.
Burnes will get a $10 million signing bonus, with $20 million salaries for 2025 and 2026. After the 2026 season he has the option to hit the open market again, but should he stay in Arizona he would earn $25 million each. The final $60 million of it is deferred to 2031 and later.
The Diamondbacks will have to put that $60 million aside in a separate account. Gambadoro also added there will be no interest on those payments. With that much deferred money lowering the present-day value of the contract into the low $190 million range, Burnes' Competitive Balance Tax number will likely be around $32-33 million per season.
So I expect the Corbin Burnes contract to be $20 million per year in the first two years and $25 million per year in each of the following four years. Deferred payments of $60 million to begin in 2031. https://t.co/Qj0plnfsfX
— John Gambadoro (@Gambo987) December 29, 2024
Diamondbacks take page out of Dodgers' playbook to sign Burnes
The Diamondbacks' chief rival in the National League West, the Los Angeles Dodgers, have been notorious in recent years for using deferred money with marquee free agents. The Dodgers have more than a billion in deferred money wrapped up in their free agent contracts in their quest to win another World Series title.
While Shohei Ohtani is the most famous example of this example, with $680 million of his $700 million contract deferred, he is a unique example as the sport's biggest star. The two-way star earned $65 million in endorsements, according to Kurt Badenhausen of Sportico.
Last December, Diamondbacks Managing General Partner Ken Kendrick spoke to Diamondbacks on SI's Jack Sommers on Ohtani's heavily deferred contract.
"All of us have done deferred contracts. So under the CBA you're required to set up an account, you can't access that money. It's certified by MLB annually on behalf of the collective bargaining agreement. You can earn interest on the money...they could earn whatever the market rate of interest and that interest is OK for them to spend."
According to Roster Resource, the Diamondbacks' CBT payroll for 2025 is set at $215.330 million. The deferred money would be a way for them to avoid going over the $241 million threshold. Their 2025 payroll number is currently just above $180 million, higher than the franchise-record total of $173 million from last year.
Dodgers and Diamondbacks each land a top tier free agent starter
The more apt comparison for Burnes actually comes from this offseason, when the Dodgers signed Blake Snell to a five-year, $182 million contract. The contracts are very similar, with both pitchers getting more than $35 million per season and over $60 million in deferred money. Snell received $1.2 million per season while Burnes got a sixth year and an opt-out.
It's worth noting the age difference between the two pitchers. Snell will be in his age-32 season while Burnes in his age-30 season in 2025. Burnes could put himself in a similar situation as Snell two years from now. If he pitches like an ace with the Diamondbacks the next two seasons, he could set himself up for another payday without the qualifying offer attached to him.
With Arizona and Los Angeles handing a large contract out to a marquee starting pitcher in the same offseason, the two pitchers' respective legacies will be forever intertwined.
Diamondbacks actually have a history of deferred contracts
Using deferred money is not a new strategy in the game of baseball, or even the Diamondbacks in their history. In their 2001 World Series championship run, Arizona took on a lot of deferred money in free agent contracts. It wasn't until after 2012 season that most of that money came off the books.
They have used deferred money under Kendrick as well. Zack Greinke, who the Diamondbacks signed nine years ago, had $60 million of his $206.5 million deferred. Four years later, they signed Madison Bumgarner to a five-year deal with $15 million of the $85 million deferred. While Bumgarner was far from successful in Arizona, it's another example of their willingness to use it to land a top free agent.
Vowing to spend to improve the roster following an unlikely World Series run in the 2023 season, Kendrick has put his money where his mouth is. The Diamondbacks are spending at record levels in terms of payroll, which should make the rivalry between them and the Dodgers in the National League West more exciting in the coming years.