What is the salary of National League MVP Paul Goldschmidt? Contract details: money, years...
With the naming of the St. Louis Cardinals first baseman Paul Goldschmidt as the National League’s 2002 MVP, we take a look at his recompense
Back in 2019, when the Arizona Diamondbacks shipped Paul Goldschmidt to St. Louis as part of a four-player trade deal, neither they nor the Cardinals had a true idea of what they had on their hands. He was due to enter free agency at the end of the season and, while he was a marquee player, at 31 years old, he was thought to be at the peak of ripeness.
When he signed the five-year, $130 million deal with the Cards that came just four months later, it was an underwhelming offer, but with covid lockdowns breaking around the world, it was perhaps a sign that both he and the organization were hedging their bets.
Three years down the road, and that has become the deal of the century. His contract saw him receive a $4 million signing bonus plus $22 million salary every year. $130 million guaranteed over the five years, which could be added to by certain performance-based bonuses.
This year, he added $250,000 by being named to the All-Star team and an extra $1.5 million for being named MVP. Other bonuses that he missed out on this season, but could be in line for during the life of the contract are another quarter-million if he wins a Gold Glove, plus $150k for being World Series MVP, $100k for NLCS MVP, $50k for NLDS MVP or Silver Slugger.
But the MVP is where the bonus money really is. Besides the payout for winning the award, he would get $1 million for finishing second in the voting, half-million for finishing third, a quarter for fourth and fifth, and $100k for finishing sixth through tenth.
Paul Goldschmidt has flowered into one of the best players in the game, hitting .317 and slugging a league-leading .578. And now, at 35 years old, he has won his first career MVP award.
Finishing in the top six in voting for half of his career, there was always the chance that he would win, but it has been truly amazing to watch him become MVP after many had assumed that his peak was behind him. He becomes the first player aged 35 or over to win the MVP since Dennis Eckersley in 1992.
“I think definitely as you age, you have to adapt, and that’s some of what I’ve tried to do. I’ve tried to get ahead of it,” says Goldschmidt. “You can’t just try to do the same thing you did the year before. But yeah, kind of the stigma that as you get older, you’re going to keep getting worse.’’
It’s not as if winning the MVP award is completely out of character, however. After all, Goldschmidt is a seven-time All-Star and a four-time Gold Glove winner.
But no matter what comes ahead, he is sanguine about the past. “I’ve had some great years.” Somehow, we have a feeling that this won’t be the last time we see Paul Goldschmidt taking home silverware.