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  4. title => "Patrick Corbin's contract is insanely backloaded, but that's S.O.P. for the Nationals"
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  6. article_body => "<p>The specifics of the six-year, $140 million deal Patrick Corbin signed with the Nationals have come out, and unsurprisingly, much of the money is backloaded.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Here are the details, courtesy of Jon Heyman:<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Patrick Corbin: 2.5M signing bonus, 12.5m in 2019, 19M in 2020, 24M in 2021, 23M in 2022, 24m in 2023, 35M in 2024 (10M deferred w\/o interest). 140m total. <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/nats?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#nats<\/a><\/p>&mdash; Jon Heyman (@JonHeyman) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/JonHeyman\/status\/1072616185454305280?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">December 11, 2018<\/a><\/blockquote>\n<script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script>\n\n<p>As you'll notice, the Nats will be paying Corbin $35 million in 2024, his age-35 season. That's an $11 million jump from the previous year, and $22.5 million more than he'll be making in&nbsp;the 2019 season.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>That may sound like a lot of money to be paying an aging pitcher in the final year of his deal. But with the Nats, that's standard operating procedure.<\/p>\n<p>To demonstrate, let's take a look at the contracts of Max Scherzer and Stephen Strasburg, Washington's other two marquee starters (contract details found on <a href=\"https:\/\/www.spotrac.com\/\">spotrac.com<\/a>)<\/p>\n<p>Scherzer signed a seven-year, $210 million deal with the Nats before the 2015 season, the average annual salary sitting at $30 million. However, he's only been receiving a base salary of $15 million a year -- plus signing bonus money and incentives --&nbsp;through his first four years in D.C.<\/p>\n<p>Why? <a href=\"https:\/\/www.spotrac.com\/mlb\/washington-nationals\/max-scherzer-5166\/\">His contract is very backloaded<\/a>: starting in 2019 until his contract expires in 2021, he'll start earning a base salary close to or more than $30 million. In addition, much of his money is deferred: from 2022-28, Washington will be paying Scherzer $105 million, good for $15 million each year.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>As for Strasburg, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.spotrac.com\/mlb\/washington-nationals\/stephen-strasburg-6865\/\">his contract includes an even more dramatic salary jump<\/a> than Corbin's or Scherzer's. Since he signed his seven-year $175 million deal, he's earned base annual salaries&nbsp;of $10.4 million, $15 million and $15 million from 2016-18.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>In 2019, that number balloons to $35 million, then down to $25 million in 2020 and back to $15 million in 2021 and 2022, before rising once again to the tune of a whopping $45 million in 2023!<\/p>\n<p>In conclusion, the Nats will be paying their top three pitchers a ton of money, but Washington has decided to delay cutting those checks to give themselves more financial flexibility in the present.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><em><strong>MORE NATIONALS NEWS:<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Effect on Harper Pursuit:&nbsp;<\/strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nbcsports.com\/washington\/nationals\/patrick-corbin-headed-dc-bryce-harper-unlikely-return\">Will Corbin's deal negatively impact Bryce's?<\/a><\/li>\n<li><strong>Door's Still Open:&nbsp;<\/strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nbcsports.com\/washington\/nationals\/dave-martinez-reiterates-door-remains-open-bryce-harper\">Martinez believes Harper leaving is not a done deal<\/a><\/li>\n<li><strong>Philly's Case for Harper:<\/strong>&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.nbcsports.com\/washington\/nationals\/case-phillies-frontrunner-bryce-harper-according-tim-kurkjian\">It makes perfect sense<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><iframe src=\"https:\/\/art19.com\/shows\/45f390d2-bee9-421b-b519-fb712394d291\/episodes\/51c61216-84e0-41f7-a089-bba8e945909b\/embed?theme=light-blue\" style=\"width: 100%; height: 200px; border: 0 none;\" scrolling=\"no\"><\/iframe> \n"
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Nationals

Nationals

The specifics of the six-year, $140 million deal Patrick Corbin signed with the Nationals have come out, and unsurprisingly, much of the money is backloaded. 

Here are the details, courtesy of Jon Heyman:

As you'll notice, the Nats will be paying Corbin $35 million in 2024, his age-35 season. That's an $11 million jump from the previous year, and $22.5 million more than he'll be making in the 2019 season. 

That may sound like a lot of money to be paying an aging pitcher in the final year of his deal. But with the Nats, that's standard operating procedure.

To demonstrate, let's take a look at the contracts of Max Scherzer and Stephen Strasburg, Washington's other two marquee starters (contract details found on spotrac.com)

Scherzer signed a seven-year, $210 million deal with the Nats before the 2015 season, the average annual salary sitting at $30 million. However, he's only been receiving a base salary of $15 million a year -- plus signing bonus money and incentives -- through his first four years in D.C.

Why? His contract is very backloaded: starting in 2019 until his contract expires in 2021, he'll start earning a base salary close to or more than $30 million. In addition, much of his money is deferred: from 2022-28, Washington will be paying Scherzer $105 million, good for $15 million each year. 

As for Strasburg, his contract includes an even more dramatic salary jump than Corbin's or Scherzer's. Since he signed his seven-year $175 million deal, he's earned base annual salaries of $10.4 million, $15 million and $15 million from 2016-18. 

 

In 2019, that number balloons to $35 million, then down to $25 million in 2020 and back to $15 million in 2021 and 2022, before rising once again to the tune of a whopping $45 million in 2023!

In conclusion, the Nats will be paying their top three pitchers a ton of money, but Washington has decided to delay cutting those checks to give themselves more financial flexibility in the present. 

MORE NATIONALS NEWS: