Sources: Witt Jr., Royals agree to $288.8M deal
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Jeff Passan, ESPN
Shortstop Bobby Witt Jr. and the Kansas City Royals are in agreement on an 11-year, $288.8 million contract extension, sources told ESPN, a staggering guarantee that will keep the young star in Kansas City as the Royals attempt to build a team — and a new stadium — with him at the center.
Witt, 23, who is entering his third major league season, was one of the best players in baseball last year, prompting the Royals to lavish upon him a deal that includes superstar money with flexibility as well. The contract will allow Witt to opt out after the seventh, eighth, ninth and 10th years, sources said. It also includes a club option after the 11th season that would tack on three years and $89 million to the contract, giving it a 14-year, $377 million ceiling.
The deal, which begins a monumental week for Kansas City sports that will end with the Chiefs playing San Francisco in the Super Bowl, guarantees Witt more than all but 15 players in baseball history. It reflects the team’s belief in Witt, who last season hit .276/.319/.495 with 30 home runs and 49 stolen bases while playing Gold Glove-caliber defense. His signing, a week before Royals players report to spring training, caps a busy winter in which the Royals moved aggressively in free agency, in part to help convince Witt that owner John Sherman was sincere in his desire to bring the Royals back to relevance less than a decade after they won the franchise’s second World Series.
Locking up Witt was the top priority for the Royals all offseason, and they secured a deal only two months before a ballot referendum in Jackson County, Missouri, to extend a three-eighths-of-a-cent tax that would help fund a new downtown Kansas City stadium for the Royals and renovate the Chiefs’ Arrowhead Stadium.
A 6-foot-1, 200-pound shortstop whose father spent 16 years as a major league pitcher, Witt has entranced evaluators for years with his combination of power, speed, baseball know-how and high character. Kansas City scouted him heavily before selecting him with the No. 2 pick out of Colleyville, Texas, in the 2019 draft. Two months later, Sherman bought the Royals from longtime owner David Glass and inherited the most talented player to join the organization in decades.
In his first full season in 2021, Witt rocketed to Triple-A and was the unanimous minor league player of the year. At Witt’s big league debut on Opening Day in 2022, Kansas City luminaries — from the Royals’ lone Hall of Famer, George Brett, to the city’s mayor, Quinton Lucas, to the recently crowned NCAA champion Kansas men’s basketball team — showed up to see the Royals, and Witt in particular.
As a rookie, Witt’s performance matched the hype: 20 home runs, 30 stolen bases, best-in-baseball speed and a glove that could grow into something special. A better version of him showed up last season after Witt spent the spring with the United States’ World Baseball Classic team. He led the major leagues with 11 triples, bumped his home runs by 50% and his stolen bases even more, matured defensively, and cut his strikeout rate to 17.4%. Only Ronald Acuña Jr., Mookie Betts, Corey Seager and Ozzie Albies — the first three of whom finished first or second in MVP voting last year — had 30 or more homers with lower strikeout rates.
Never would the timing for an extension be better than this winter. Witt would have entered arbitration after the 2024 season and been just three years from free agency and the allure of teams far more moneyed than the Royals. Had a deal not been completed, the Royals could have begun entertaining the possibility of trading Witt — especially if it was clear they were unwilling to operate in the $250 million-plus space and dwarf their previous record contract, a four-year, $82 million extension for All-Star catcher Salvador Perez.
Sherman was. And, in doing so, he hopes not only to send the Royals on a proper trajectory after a dismal 56-106 finish in 2023 but convince fans to vote yes on putting $1 billion toward a stadium estimated to cost $2 billion and serve as the nerve center for a downtown entertainment district. The Royals’ current home, Kauffman Stadium, was built in 1973 and renovated in 2009.
Discussions have been going on between the Royals and Bobby Witt Sr., who serves as his son’s agent with Octagon, for months. Witt’s guarantee of $288 million is the second largest for a pre-arbitration player behind Fernando Tatis Jr.’s 14-year, $340 million contract and exceeds Tatis’ deal — which was previously regarded as in its own class — in annual value by around $2 million.
The opt-outs, which come after the 2030, 2031, 2032 and 2033 seasons, afford Witt the opportunity to reach free agency or renegotiate the deal, but he intends to remain with the Royals long past the first seven years, which will pay him $148 million. The deal also includes a no-trade clause and a signing bonus of $7,777,777 — perfect for the player whose No. 7 jersey is ubiquitous around Kansas City.
The commitment is an investment in trust by both sides. Big-money, long-term contracts for players as young as Witt are regarded by low-revenue teams such as Kansas City as necessary to keep players of his caliber. At the same time, they come with enough risk that teams are loath to hand them out. Only six previous players with two or fewer years in the major leagues had been given nine-figure deals. All have been All-Stars: Fernando Tatis Jr. (14 years, $340 million), Julio Rodriguez (12 years, $209 million), Wander Franco (11 years, $182 million), Mike Trout (six years, $144.5 million), Corbin Carroll (eight years, $111 million) and Acuña (eight years, $100 million).
Witt, meanwhile, is entrusting his best years to an organization that has struggled to surround him with good players in his first two years, during which the Royals went 121-203. The free agent signings of right-handers Seth Lugo (three years, $45 million) and Michael Wacha (two years, $32 million) have helped stabilize a rotation that saw a potential breakout in the second half from left-hander Cole Ragans, whom Kansas City acquired for reliever Aroldis Chapman in June. The return of first baseman Vinnie Pasquantino, who missed most of 2023 after undergoing shoulder surgery, should provide Witt with better lineup protection.
Multiple teams’ internal projection systems regard Witt as one of the 10 best players in baseball and see MVP-type seasons in his future. During his first season, Witt showed flashes of greatness, and when fans stumped to ensure he’d remain with the Royals, he said that he didn’t want to look too far ahead but that “I want to be here for a long time.”
Now, he will be.
Jaden Rashada, a former ESPN 300 quarterback recruit, sued the University of Florida and coach Billy Napier on Tuesday. Rashada is claiming he was defrauded of millions of dollars in name, image and likeness money.
The lawsuit, among other things, alleges that Napier promised the player’s father a $1 million “partial payment” upon signing. Rashada never got the money, and the boosters never fulfilled the deal, the lawsuit states.
It is the latest in a long saga involving the player and the school. Now, Rashada is the first college athlete known to sue his coach or a booster due to a dispute over an NIL deal.
What’s next for Rashada and Florida? Our reporters break it down.
How did we get here?
Rashada was ranked No. 31 overall in the 2023 class and had a prep career that featured several transfers. His freshman season in high school was played at Liberty High School (Brentwood, California). He then transferred to IMG Academy in Florida before going back to California to play three seasons at Pittsburg (California) High School. His college decision came down to two Florida schools and two big NIL numbers.
Rashada committed to the Miami Hurricanes in June 2022. The lawsuit states that Rashada had a $9.5 million NIL promise with the Canes. But Rashada decommitted that November and promptly flipped to the Florida Gators and Coach Napier. He signed his national letter of intent during the December signing period. However, he didn’t enroll at Florida, and his arrival in Gainesville was contingent on a four-year, $13.85 million NIL deal. Rashada asked for a release from his letter of intent when the deal fell through.
The Gator Collective, an independent fundraising organization that distributed money to UF athletes at the time, was responsible for the deal. However, the financial backing did not materialize, and the Gator Collective terminated the contract. Rashada was released from his letter of intent. He then took a visit to Arizona State and committed to play for the Sun Devils, arriving on campus in July 2023.
Rashada started the first two games of the season for Arizona State, but an injury kept him out for most of the season. In three games, he was 44-of-82 for 485 yards, with four touchdowns and three interceptions.
Rashada entered the transfer portal on April 18 and is now transferring to Georgia, where he will have four years of eligibility remaining. — Tom VanHaaren
What’s next for Rashada?
Georgia emerged as Rashada’s likely transfer destination soon after he entered the portal. He selected the Bulldogs on April 25, captioning his Instagram announcement, “Compete with the BEST.” Rather than vying for the starting job at ASU with emerging Michigan State transfer Sam Leavitt, Rashada enters a situation where he will play behind Georgia’s Carson Beck, a top Heisman Trophy contender and NFL hopeful.
Barring an injury to Beck, Rashada will use the 2024 season for developmental purposes, while absorbing a different offense under coordinator Mike Bobo in Athens.
A realistic goal would be to start in 2025 for a Bulldogs team always in the national title hunt. He would need to beat out primary challenger Gunner Stockton, who enters his third season in the Georgia program and gained valuable experience this spring. Both Stockton and incoming freshman Ryan Puglisi ranked among ESPN’s top 110 recruits in their respective classes. Coach Kirby Smart likes to have four scholarship quarterbacks on his roster at all times, and the team has a 2025 commitment from ESPN 300 recruit Ryan Montgomery.
Rashada is the most decorated quarterback prospect of the bunch, but he will need to adjust quickly, especially with Stockton ahead on the learning curve. — Adam Rittenberg
How did this affect Florida on the field?
The Gators signed Rashada in December 2022, anticipating he would compete for the starting job with veteran Graham Mertz, who transferred in from Wisconsin. Without him, the job went to Mertz, who threw for 2,903 yards, completed 73% of his passes and threw 20 touchdown passes to three interceptions last season. Losing Rashada did not help Napier from a public relations standpoint, as he drew ire from the Florida fan base — especially after a 5-7 finish to 2023.
Florida did have a plan for its future, though, as Napier had a longstanding commitment from D.J. Lagway, the top-rated quarterback in the class of 2024. Lagway committed to Florida just weeks before Rashada signed his letter of intent, and the Gators were in a massive fight to keep Lagway as other schools went after him as signing day approached last December. Lagway has said Clemson, USC and Texas A&M all made late pushes, but he ultimately signed with the Gators and enrolled early, going through spring football.
His decision to come to Florida was absolutely huge for Napier, who has yet to find solid footing headed into Year 3 and desperately needed Lagway to sign. Mertz is back for one more season and is the presumptive starter. But there is a lot riding on this season for Florida and for Napier in particular. With the season opener against rival Miami, Florida fans want to see progress and results immediately. If Mertz struggles, do not be surprised if fans start calling for Lagway. — Andrea Adelson
Could the Gators face any NCAA repercussions from Rashada’s claims?
The NCAA alerted Florida almost a year ago that it was investigating claims that the football program had violated recruiting rules, according to documents obtained by The Associated Press. ESPN’s Mark Schlabach confirmed the investigation was related to Rashada’s recruitment.
Rashada claims in his lawsuit that Napier directly promised Rashada a $1 million payment from a booster if he signed with Florida, which would be a violation of the NCAA’s policies. The NCAA penalized Florida State and suspended one of its coaches in January for getting involved in NIL offers made to a prospect.
However, the NCAA sent a letter to its schools in late February explaining that it was pausing all open enforcement cases “involving third-party participation in NIL-related activities” after a federal judge in Tennessee granted an injunction that prohibited the NCAA from enforcing some of its rules. That case was filed by Tennessee’s attorney general after the NCAA opened an investigation into the Vols’ recruiting tactics.
Any other high-profile enforcement actions taken by the NCAA — such as a penalty for Napier or the Gators — could invite additional lawsuits at a time when the association remains vulnerable to antitrust scrutiny, which makes it unlikely that any NCAA punishments could be coming soon. — Dan Murphy
NEW YORK — New York Yankees ace Gerrit Cole says he thinks he could return to a major league mound in June after facing hitters for the first time since spring training.
The reigning AL Cy Young Award winner, wearing a full pinstriped uniform, threw 20 pitches to Oswaldo Cabrera and Jamai Jones before Tuesday night’s game against Seattle.
Cole had thrown five bullpen sessions before the batting practice. The 33-year-old right-hander, sidelined by elbow nerve inflammation and edema, said he will have one or two more BP sessions before starting a minor league rehabilitation assignment.
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