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Apr 9, 2025; Denver, Colorado, USA; Colorado Rockies designated hitter Kris Bryant (23) looks on from the dugout before the game against the Milwaukee Brewers at Coors Field. Isaiah J. Downing-Imagn Images

Kris Bryant's Rockies Contract Still Considered One of Worst in Baseball

Originally posted on Colorado Rockies on SI
By Sean O'Leary | Last updated Oct 9, 2025 9:00 PM ET

Free agency is always a gamble in baseball. Generally, a player doesn't hit free agency until he's close to or past 30. Players like Juan Soto and Bryce Harper go into free agency at 26 or 27, but that's rare. Regardless, teams have to take a swing on players, and more often than not, they have to overpay to bring them in.

Every team has taken that chance and missed more often than they've hit, including the Colorado Rockies. For every Larry Walker and Andres Galarraga, there are Mike Hamptons and Ian Desmonds. However, the worst contract in franchise history also comes at a time when they are playing worse than they ever have.

Heading into the 2022 season, the Rockies went out and made a splash, signing former NL MVP Kris Bryant to a large deal. As is well known by now, the contract has been a disaster, and Bleacher Report names it the team's "nightmare contract" heading into next year.

Kris Bryant’s Disastrous Rockies Tenure

Isaiah J. Downing-Imagn Images

From the moment he was drafted second overall in 2013, Byrant was a star. As baseball's top prospect for two years, he made his debut in 2015 and won the National League Rookie of the Year Award. The next season, Bryant won NL MVP and led the Chicago Cubs to their first World Series win since 1908.

Bryant took some steps back, but he was still an All-Star-level player over the next five seasons. When the Cubs tore it down in 2021, the former MVP was among their core stars traded away at the deadline. After a 25-homer, .835 OPS season, Bryant became a free agent for the first time.

Colorado surprised everyone when they made a splash and signed Bryant to a seven year, $182 million deal. It was the largest free agent contract in franchise history, but unfortunately for them, it was a flop almost immediately.

In the first year of his deal, Bryant played well when he was on the field, posting an .851 OPS. But the problem was that he wasn't on the field much, playing only 42 games. That has become a theme for the now-33-year-old. Since signing, Bryant has had nine different stints on the injured list in four seasons with the team. He has played only 170 games, just over a season's worth in that time.

And when on the field since 2023, Bryant has posted a .642 OPS, 69 OPS+ and minus-2.2 bWAR in 128 games. Not only is he not on the field anymore, but when he is, he's almost unplayable.

Rockies Stuck With This Terrible Deal for More Years

Rick Scuteri-Imagn Images

It continues to be a huge issue for the Rockies. It would be one thing if he was an older player at the tail end of a massive contract like Miguel Cabrera or Albert Pujols towards the end of their careers. But Bryant has made $101 million for a little over a season's worth of games and is still owed $27 million per year over the next three seasons.

"Because it was only $182 million and not $245 million, this one has consistently landed behind both Stephen Strasburg and Anthony Rendon contracts on the pain index. But there are three years left in what has already been an all-timer of a disaster," wrote Bleacher Report's Kerry Miller about this deal.

Unfortunately, the Rockies are stuck in this contract. Bryant has no trade value, and it's still a substansial amount of money owed. They'll have to eat the contract no matter what happens, even if they somehow were able to move him.

To make things worse, Bryant's latest injury has been the worst of them and he could continue to miss significant time with "lumbar degenerative disc disease."

He only played 11 games in 2025 before being placed on the 60-day injured list in May. While talking to the media in June, Bryant told reporters that it hurts to run. It's a sad story for such a decorated and iconic player of the 2010s.

As is the Rockies' luck, it all happened after giving the four-time All-Star a huge contract.