Shortstop Fernando Tatis Jr. signed a 14-year, $340 million deal with the San Diego Padres at only 22 years old. This is the third-largest contract in the MLB, behind only Dodgers OF Mookie Betts and Angels OF Mike Trout as well as the sixth-largest contract for any athlete ever.

His young age coupled with his incredible talent makes him one of the most valuable players in the MLB, and clearly, he plans on spending most if not all of his career with the Padres.

Even though he has only been in the MLB for two years, Tatis is quickly becoming one of the faces of the league, including the face of MLB The Show 21. In his 143-game career, Tatis has been a crucial piece for the Padres, as he batted .301, hit 39 home runs, 168 hits, and 98 RBIs.

Senior Ryan Dillon voiced his skepticism, saying, “Tatis is a very young and extraordinary player, but that contract is too big for a guy who has only played one and a half seasons.”

Senior Matt Emeric disagreed, saying, “It might sound crazy to give a player who has only played 143 games in his career this deal, but Tatis has shown he is a freak of nature ever since he entered the league in 2019. Tatis can do it all at short stop; he has a great arm, has phenomenal range at shortstop, hits for average, finds the gaps, and can hit the long ball better than almost anyone at the position. Tatis is one of the most talented 22 year old players the game has ever seen and demonstrates great character and leadership as well, so it’s a smart move by the Padres to lock up their franchise star for the next 14 years.”

Some fun facts about this massive contract: Tatis earns $2,000,000 per month, $45,000 per AB, $16,500 per inning, $2,800 per hour, and $47 per min for 14 years, according to MLB on FOX.

Unfortunately, when Tatis was 19 years old, he got a loan from Big League Advance, a company that invests in minor league baseball players before they get called up. For a loan of $800,000, Tatis will end up giving about 8% of his contract, or a whopping $27 million to BLA. This is a colossal misstep by Tatis, especially because he is the son of former professional baseball player Fernando Tatis Sr. so it is unlikely the $800,000 loan was absolutely necessary for Tatis Jr. at the time.