Throughout his time in Major League Baseball, Ken Griffey Jr. emerged as one of the top players ever to play the game – and he was paid handsomely for it, as a result. And as it turns out, he is actually still being paid handsomely for it.
As ESPN pointed on on Sunday morning, Ken Griffey Jr. will actually be the fourth-highest-paid player on the Cincinnati Reds payroll this season, even though he hasn’t played for the team since 2008 and hasn’t even played a Major League Baseball game since 2010.
“Ken Griffey Jr. will be the fourth-highest paid player for the Cincinnati Reds this season,” ESPN wrote in a graphic on Sunday morning, citing Spotrac. “He will be making $3.59 million thanks to the deferred payment agreement of his contract extension with the Reds in 2000.”
Ken Griffey Jr. is 53 years old and hasn't played in MLB in over a decade 😳 pic.twitter.com/3L3M79syrx
— ESPN (@espn) March 26, 2023
“Ken Griffey Jr. is 53 years old and hasn’t played in MLB in over a decade,” the tweet read.
It’s a pretty shocking turn of events, given that Griffey hasn’t played baseball since he retired from the game back in 2010. And the MLB world had plenty to say about it on Twitter as a result, with plenty of people reminded about Bobby Bonilla’s deferred deal with the New York Mets, which infamously pays him through 2035.
The Kid's getting that "Bobby Bonilla money" 🤣🤣🤣 https://t.co/ApypcHwSgV
— David Henshaw🔥🎙️Checkmark (@Davidhenshaw025) March 26, 2023
They had to salary dump Suarez to the Mariners partly because of Griffey, truly the GOAT. https://t.co/srLDrlBrzQ
— Mariner Muse (@MarinerMuse) March 26, 2023
Padres are paying players agents more than that! Tough to compete for Cincy.
(But give me all the India/Greene/Lodolo I can get baybayyyyy) https://t.co/dd8wxzWKVj
— Talkin’ Jake (@TalkinJake) March 26, 2023
Griffey has company in this category.
Chris Davis hasn’t played a full season in 4 yrs & is 3rd highest paid Oriole this yr ($9.1M) after JMcCann ($12M) & KGibson ($10M) ⚾️ #MLB https://t.co/EnbmpNNFd9— Mark Viviano (@MarkWJZ) March 26, 2023
Shit like this makes me chuckle. If you are running a #MLB team in 2023 and your fourth highest paid player makes under $4MM you should have to sell your damn organization. https://t.co/s2Dyc9NKnZ
— Rob Sullivan 🇨🇦 (@RotoHeatSully) March 26, 2023
Obviously, this isn’t exactly a great sign for the Cincinnati Reds, because it means their roster is not exactly star-studded. But it’s good for Griffey to continue getting his money.
[ESPN]
