Scott Boras on possible Bryce Harper extension: 'Really up to the Lerners'
Scott Boras said a possible Bryce Harper extension is up to the team's ownership.
By
Mike Axisa
•
2 min read
In a surprising move, the Nationals were able to lock up Stephen Strasburg to a seven-year contract extension Monday night. The deal was made official Tuesday and will pay him $175 million. There are two opt-outs and heavy deferrals in the deal.
I say the move was surprising because Strasburg is a Scott Boras client, and Boras is known to push his top clients toward free agency. Strasburg was going to be the best free-agent starter on the market this offseason by a wide margin. He might have been able to eclipse $200 million on the open market.
What about Bryce Harper, another National and another Boras client? Bob Nightengale of USA Today caught up with Boras on Tuesday and asked him about the team's chances of signing Harper long-term. From Nightengale:
“Bryce Harper is a scenario where this ownership certainly has the financial wherewithal to do what they want to do,’’ Boras said. “It’s really up to the Lerners what they want to do with Bryce Harper.’’
The Lerner family owns 90 percent of the Nationals. Ted Lerner, who made his fortune in real estate, is the wealthiest owner in baseball, according to a Forbes report from September. His net worth is estimated at $5.5 billion.
Of course, Lerner's fortune is Lerner's fortune, not the Nationals' fortune. The team generates its own revenue and has its own expenses. Not many pro sports owners will dip into their own wealth to sign free agents and things like that. The team is typically its own financial entity in that regard.
Harper is almost certain to become the first $400 million player in baseball history when he becomes a free agent after the 2018 season. Given the way salaries are inflating these days, I wouldn't be surprised if we're talking about a $500 million contract when the time comes. Whatever you're thinking it'll take to sign Harper is probably too low.
The Strasburg deal shows it is indeed possible to sign a high-end Boras client before free agency. Harper is the ultimate Boras client, however. He hasn't had a client this young and this talented since Alex Rodriguez in 2001. A-Rod didn't just set a contract record, he smashed it. His $252 million deal was exactly double the next-largest sports contract at the time (Kevin Garnett's $126 million deal with the NBA's Timberwolves).
That's the kind of contract Boras is going to want for Harper. A record-smashing contract. Not something that sets a record by a few million. The Lerner family has the financial clout to give Harper a record contract. Are they willing to go that far?
