Before Glittering New York Yankees Stint, Alex Rodriguez Made More Money Aged 25 Than Every Elite Athlete on the Planet Thanks to Another MLB Team

Alex Rodriguez Right from the start of his professional career, Alex Rodriguez was a box office in baseball. He achieved several milestones at such a young age that MLB teams were desperate to sign him. 

A-Rod started his baseball career with the Seattle Mariners and ended it with the New York Yankees. But apart from these two teams, the former MLB star also had a short stint with the Texas Rangers. Whenever someone talks about A-Rod’s illustrious career in MLB, it starts with the Mariners and ends with the Yankees.

But it was the Rangers that broke their bank to sign the biggest MLB star of the 21st century. Although A-Rod did not have a memorable stint with the Rangers, he was a beast while playing for the Rangers. Notably, the Rangers had handed the biggest MLB contract to A-Rod at that time.

Three years at the Texas Rangers were the career-changing years for Alex Rodriguez

Dating back to the year 2000, Alex Rodriguez had three straight seasons with 40-plus home runs for the Seattle Mariners. And considering he was just 25 at that time, the Texas Rangers made the biggest bid in MLB history and signed A-Rod for a whopping $250 million on a ten-year deal.

At that time, it was the biggest contract in MLB and one of the biggest in the entire sports. But after getting such a huge contract, the onus was on A-Rod to prove his worth. And guess what? The star slugger had three record-breaking seasons for the Rangers.

Read more: New York Yankees Legend Alex Rodriguez Breaks Down What Forced Him to Start His Business Career at a Young Age: ‘Started Out of Fear’

A-Rod smashed a total of 156 home runs in the span of just three seasons. He also won the American League MVP in the 2003 season. However, it was not enough to win any title for the Rangers.

When talking about money, per CBS Sports, Mike Hampton (eight years, $121 million) and Kevin Garnett (six years, $126 million) had the largest MLB contracts before A-Rod. With his $250 million contract, Alex Rodriguez completely changed the MLB market.

A-Rod’s contract was so massive that even to date, getting a $25 million a year contract is a big deal for several MLB stars.

WATCH THIS STORY: From Jennifer Lopez To Cameron Diaz; Top 5 Big Names Alex ‘A-Rod’ Rodriguez Dated With

Do you think the Rangers made a mistake by breaking the bank for Alex Rodriguez?