Image via Getty/Tom Pennington
Calling someone who makes $5 million annually “underpaid” would be absurd under most circumstances. Professional sports contracts does not meet that criteria.
For all of the flack professional athletes get over “making millions to play a game,” it’s worth noting that they’re actually worth it—at least sometimes. Players like LeBron James, Tom Brady, and Mike Trout can draw thousands of fans to games and millions more on TV, and generate millions in merchandise sales. Doctors may save lives and LeBron James may just be playing a game, but how many kids do you know wanting to wear Dr. Smith’s stethoscope when they grow up? Didn’t think so.
There are two main reasons for an athlete’s lack of compensation. The first is youth: Athletes in the first few years of their careers are often the most grossly undercompensated—relatively speaking, of course. Rookie wage scales in the NFL and NBA cap even high first-rounders at “just” a few million dollars per season. The situation is even less player-friendly in baseball, where MLB arbitration rules make it virtually impossible for any player to make more than mid-six figures during their first three seasons.
Other athletes, looking for financial stability, undersell their talent by signing long-term, lower-salary deals early in their careers. These deals can lock a player to his team for several years, many of which could have been high-earning years in free agency. This is a strategy akin to selling your briefcase in “Deal or No Deal”: It assures that you’ll get something for your endeavor, but means you might miss out on an even bigger payday.
Obviously, making a few million dollars a year won’t put any pro athlete in danger of starving to death—with the exception of Latrell Sprewell, of course. But it’s still safe to say that some of these guys deserve raises. In order to determine just how big those raises should be, we’ve subtracted their actual salaries by what they should be making, based on their skill level and the highest salaries of other players at their respective positions. Here are the 15 most underpaid athletes of 2018, ranked by how many millions each athlete is underpaid.
15. Jalen Ramsey
Team: Jacksonville Jaguars
Position: Cornerback
Salary: $6.7 million
What He’s Worth: $13 million
What He’s Underpaid By: $6.3 million
The Jaguars ended their decade-long playoff drought last season, and this was due in large part to a core of young, talented defensive players. Jalen Ramsey may be the best of an elite Jacksonville bunch; he was Pro Football Focus’ second-rated cover corner last season, as he defensed 18 passes and caught four interceptions. He and A.J. Bouye combined for the best cornerback duo in the league last year—the backbone of the NFL’s best pass defense.
Ramsey is still on the rookie deal that he signed after being drafted No. 5 overall in 2016, so he’ll only make $6.7 million this season. His performance indicates that he could someday earn what some of the highest-paid corners in the league make, like Josh Norman ($15 million), Trumaine Johnson ($14.5 million), and Xavier Rhodes ($14 million).
14. Todd Gurley
Team: St. Louis Rams
Position: Running Back
Salary: $4.3 million
What He’s Worth: $11 million
What He’s Underpaid By: $6.7 million
Gurley was MVP runner-up last season and led the NFL with 13 rushing touchdowns and 2,093 all-purpose yards, making him the only player in the league with more than 2,000 all-purpose yards. But while Gurley stands as perhaps the NFL’s best running back, his $4.3 million cap hit will make him just the 12th-highest paid back this season. The good news for Gurley, who is in the final year of his rookie deal, is that the Rams have exercised his fifth-year option for 2019, which puts him in place to earn roughly $9.6 million next season.
13. Adam Thielen
Team: Minnesota Vikings
Position: Wide Receiver
Salary: $5.1 million
What He’s Worth: $12 million
What He’s Underpaid By: $6.9 million
It took Adam Thielen just four years to go from an undrafted practice-squad scrub to one of the NFL’s elite receivers. He played only sparingly in his first three seasons in the league, but broke out in 2016 with 967 receiving yards and five touchdowns. That season proved he had outgrown his league-minimum salary, so the Vikings rewarded him with a three-year, $17 million contract.
But now it appears he has outgrown this contract as well. Thielen finished fifth in the NFL last season with 1,276 receiving yards, and was a major part of Minnesota’s improbable run to the NFC Championship Game. At a miniscule $6.1 million cap hit, he’s one of the NFL’s biggest bargains.
12. Jimmy Butler
Team: Minnesota Timberwolves
Position: Shooting Guard
Salary: $20.4 million
What He’s Worth: $30 million
What He’s Underpaid By: $9.6 million
$18.7 million would be considered a ridiculously high salary in just about any profession. But for an established NBA superstar, it’s next to nothing.
Butler’s five-year, $92.3 million contract extension, inked after his breakout 2014-15 season, might be the most team-friendly deal currently extended to any active NBA star, since it’s kept Butler’s base salary under $20 million for the entirety of the deal. Not a bad price for someone who’s made four consecutive All-Star Games.
With a $20.4 million cap hit, Butler is only the 40th-highest paid player in the league. Players making more include Danilo Gallinari, Nicolas Batum, Harrison Barnes, and Chandler Parsons.
11. Aaron Donald
Team: Los Angeles Rams
Position: Defensive End
Salary: $6.8 million
What He’s Worth: $20 million
What He’s Underpaid By: $13.2 million
As reigning Defensive Player of the Year, Aaron Donald is one of the biggest reasons the Rams just ended their 13-year playoff drought. Donald recorded 41 tackles—including 16 tackles for loss—11 sacks, and five forced fumbles in 2017, and made his fourth Pro Bowl in as many seasons. Few players have been as consistent as Donald since he was drafted by the Rams in 2014.
And although Donald established himself as a star almost immediately, he still hasn’t been paid like one. Donald held out of most of training camp last season in hopes of receiving a long-term deal, but ended his holdout once it became clear he would not be getting one. The Rams, however, have been open to an extension this year, and Donald reportedly wants to be the highest-paid non-quarterback in the league. That title currently belongs to Von Miller, who will make just over $21 million this season between his salary and bonuses.
Donald might not get that Miller money, but he at the very least deserves to be the highest-paid defensive end in the NFL—that title currently belongs to Olivier Vernon, who will make about $20 million in 2018.
10. Mookie Betts
Team: Boston Red Sox
Position: Outfielder
Salary: $10.5 million
What He’s Worth: $28 million
What He’s Underpaid By: $17.5 million
Mookie Betts is the best all-around position player in the major leagues not named Mike Trout. The 25-year-old outfielder is leading the American League with a .359 batting average and a .671 slugging percentage, has 23 home runs and 16 steals, and plays a solid defensive right field. Betts’ $10.5 million salary is actually pretty high considering that this is his first arbitration year, but is extremely low considering what he brings to the Red Sox.
A player with a 30-30 potential and a .350 batting average deserves a lot more than $10.5 million. Jason Heyward is making $28 million this year, and Betts is a far better all-around player than Heyward is.
9. DeMarcus Cousins
Team: Golden State Warriors
Position: Center
Salary: $5.3 million
What He’s Worth: $24 million
What He’s Underpaid By: $18.7 million
While he is likely going to miss at least half of the regular season, there’s no question that $5.3 million is a ridiculously low price tag for a four-time All-Star center in the prime of his career.
Cousins has averaged 25.2 points, 11.9 rebounds, 1.5 steals, and 1.4 blocks per game since the start of the 2013-14 season, making him one of the most talented centers the NBA has seen in a long time. His averages may go down now that he’ll likely be the No. 4 offensive option in Golden State, but it’s equally likely that Cousins may have just made the Warriors’ starting five the best top-to-bottom lineup in NBA history. They’re considered a shoe-in to win their fourth title in the last five seasons.
8. Aaron Rodgers
Team: Green Bay Packers
Position: Quarterback
Salary: $20.6 million
What He’s Worth: $40 million
What He’s Underpaid By: $19.4 million
How is Aaron Rodgers only the 14th-highest paid quarterback in the NFL?
The irreplicable value that Rodgers brings to the Packers may have been best exemplified last season—while he wasn’t playing. Green Bay went 4-3 with Rogers, but just 3-6 without him, ending their eight-year playoff streak.
Rodgers has consistently made Packers teams that didn’t quite have the best supporting casts into perennial Super Bowl contenders. If Jimmy Garoppolo—who has made a grand total of seven career NFL starts—is able to make $37 million this year, Rodgers is easily worth $40 million annually.
7. Ben Simmons
Team: Philadelphia 76ers
Position: Point Guard
Salary: $6.4 million
What He’s Worth: $26 million
What He’s Underpaid By: $19.6 million
Ben Simmons is one of just a handful of NBA players who can play any of the five positions, and play each of them about equally well. The reigning Rookie of the Year passes superbly, can operate in the paint, and move from end to end like a small forward.
Someone like that is surely worth more than $6.4 million, right?
The Sixers hold Simmons under an austere three-year, $18 million contract, which also includes an $8.1 million club option for the 2019-20 season. After that, Simmons could be a strong candidate for a supermax deal worth well over $30 million annually. For now, he’ll have to learn to survive on a mere $6.4 million per year. Poor guy.
6. Karl-Anthony Towns
Team: Minnesota Timberwolves
Position: Center
Salary: $7.8 million
What He’s Worth: $28 million
What He’s Underpaid By: $20.2 million
Karl-Anthony Towns is an All-NBA center. He’s never missed a single game in his three NBA seasons. Just this year, Towns helped end a 14-year playoff drought in Minnesota.
For all of that, Towns will be the 154th-highest paid player in the NBA this season. Just behind JaMychal Green.
Towns is still on his rookie deal, which will keep him under team control (and well beneath his open-market value) through the 2019-20 season. It’s safe to say that once he signs an extension—or hits free agency—his salary will more than make up for the past few years’ undercompensation.
5. Jose Altuve
Team: Houston Astros
Position: Second Base
Salary: $9 million
What He’s Worth: $30 million
What He’s Underpaid By: $21 million
Jose Altuve has been playing at Hall of Fame levels for quite some time. He’s led the AL in hits in each of the last four seasons (and is leading again this year), leads all active players with a .318 career batting average, and won AL MVP honors last year after guiding the Astros to their first-ever World Series championship. In fact, Altuve actually has more hits than Pete Rose did through his age-28 season.
Despite that, Altuve has never been paid like superstar. He locked himself into a four-year, $12.5 million extension in 2013, which includes $9 and $9.5 million club options for 2018 and 2019. This puts Altuve into a three-way tie for the 136th-highest paid player in the Bigs this year. Scrubs like the Mets’ A.J. Ramos, the Cubs’ Tyler Chatwood, and the Diamondbacks’ Yasmany Tomas all make more than Altuve, the best contact hitter since Ichiro.
Lucky for Altuve, that’s changing: He recently signed a five-year, $151 million contract extension with Houston that will kick in beginning in 2020.
4. Donovan Mitchell
Team: Utah Jazz
Position: Shooting Guard
Salary: $3.1 million
What He’s Worth: $25 million
What He’s Underpaid By: $21.9 million
Mitchell looked like a budding superstar in his first NBA season. 2017’s 13th overall pick averaged 20.5 points per game for the Jazz, and was the driving factor behind their first-round upset of the Thunder. Despite this, Mitchell’s rookie contract granted him just $2.6 million last season—chump change by NBA standards.
Mitchell’s slated to make a slightly-higher $3.1 million this season, and has $3.6 million and $5.2 million team options for the 2019-20 and 2020-21 seasons, respectively—adding up to just $14.5 million total. For reference, Timofey Mozgov made $16 million this season. And it’s safe to say that Mitchell is worth more than Mozgov.
3. Corey Kluber
Team: Cleveland Indians
Position: Pitcher
Salary: $10 million
What He’s Worth: $32 million
What He’s Underpaid By: $22 million
Corey Kluber may go down as the best contemporary pitcher to never land a nine-figure contract.
Because he was a late bloomer—he didn’t become a full-time MLB player until he was 26— getting a big contract was always going to be difficult. After his Cy Young winning 2014 season, he signed a five-year, $38.5 million contract, which includes $15.5 million and $16 million options for 2019 and 2020, respectively. This deal will keep Kluber under Indians’ control until he’s 35, so by then it’ll probably be too late for a huge free-agent deal.
Since 2014, Kluber has finished top-ten in American League Cy Young voting every season, won the award twice, and helped take the Indians to their first World Series in nearly 20 years. Including his salary this season, Kluber has cost the Indians just $24.8 million since 2014. For context, Clayton Kershaw is making $35.6 million this year alone.
2. Carson Wentz
Team: Philadelphia Eagles
Position: Quarterback
Salary: $7.2 million
What He’s Worth: $30 million
What He’s Underpaid By: $22.8 million
In the pre-rookie wage-scale days, Carson Wentz would likely be making well over $10 million per year. But now that rookie contracts have been dramatically scaled back, Wentz will only cost the Eagles about $7.3 million this season. That’s not a bad price for a franchise quarterback.
Wentz was the MVP frontrunner for most of last season, before a Week 14 knee injury ended his year prematurely. Despite missing the final three games of the regular season, Wentz still finished second in the league with 33 touchdown passes, and led all quarterbacks with a 74.4 QBR. The Eagles have him under his affordable rookie contract through 2019, giving them ample opportunity and cap space to surround Wentz with elite talent.
1. Aaron Judge
Team: New York Yankees
Position: Outfield
Salary: $622,300
What He’s Worth: $28 million
What He’s Underpaid By: $27.4 million
The Yankees have always been synonymous with “buying players” and “buying championships.” This generation of Bronx Bombers a bit different, though—they’ve built a contender through a litany of young (and cheap) prospects, headlined by Aaron Judge.
Most MLB players in their first three seasons only make in the six figures, per MLB’s arbitration rules, regardless of how well they play. That means any number of MLB stars could have been in this place instead, including fellow Yankees Luis Severino, Gary Sanchez, and Gleyber Torres. But Judge might be the best athlete on Earth only making six figures.
Judge hit 52 home runs last season—the most ever hit by a rookie—and already has 25 this season. In addition to his elite power numbers, Judge is equally elite at finding the base paths, with a .399 career on-base percentage. At just 26 years old, he’ll have ample room to improve his already-elite skill set, and ample time to win the Yankees their 28th ring.
Not a bad deal for a couple hundred grand.