Mike Trout and Bryce Harper New Contracts - How Does it Affect Their Autograph Market?

2019 has started off with a big bang in baseball. 3 HUGE new contracts given out to Manny Machado, Mike Trout, and Bryce Harper.

Today I am going to talk about 2 of them, Mike Trout and Bryce Harper.

Are these contracts good for baseball?

Good for their teams?

More importantly, how does it affect their autograph market?

Those are today's topics.

ARE THESE CONTRACTS GOOD FOR BASEBALL?

There are many arguments you hear about giving players these expensive and long guaranteed contracts. Some positive, some negative.  

My argument is this. The more the players are getting paid, the healthier the game is.  Obviously, teams wouldn't be giving out these huge contracts if they 1.) didn't have the money, and 2,) didn't think the team could make money off the contract.

Giving someone 400 million dollars isn't something that you decide in one day. It takes tons of research and consensus on many of the team's executives.  

With the league making more money and being able to afford these types of deals, it shows the league is healthy and that fan interest is supporting that growth. 

This is always a good thing.

ARE THESE CONTRACTS GOOD FOR THEIR TEAMS?

While I think these contracts are good for baseball as a whole, if I were the owners of the Angels, Padres, and PhilliesI would be very hesitant to give these types of deals for a few reasons.

#1 - I am very fiscally conservative by nature. So shelling out tons of cash like this scares the pants off of me.  

#2 - A lot can change in 12 years. Think about how much your live has changed?  Your health, your mindset, your passions, and your family.  Will these players interest in playing the game be just as high 5 or 10 years down the road?

Baseball contracts are guaranteed so if a players talent and numbers fall off or they get hurt, it makes it extremely difficult to trade them. 

Harper has been injury prone and hit only .249 in 2018. Trout on the other hand has won 2 MVP awards and finished 2nd 4 times.

Also, this puts a big chunk of your yearly salary going towards one player.

Personally, I would rather have several quality players than one, high quality player.  Especially since this game revolves so much around pitching.

On the positive side, both players are in their primes and ready to contribute at the highest levels of their careers.

HOW DO THESE CONTRACTS AFFECT THEIR AUTOGRAPH MARKET?

Trout and Harper are 2 of the more popular autographs in baseball and carry a high value price tag.  

Let's start off with Trout. I don't see this changing his market at all.  Here's why.

Trout already signs a few times a year for MLB.  So unless he wins a 3rd MVP award I can't see his pricing going up. If anything, this has helped solidify his Angels items as highly collectible since he will most likely be going into the Hall of Fame as an Angel.

Harper on the other hand rarely signs. I think 2015 was the last signing he has done. 

With this new found interest in Harper (his jersey was the #1 seller recently), I can see a company making a play in 2019, and trying to bring him in for a signing.  Philadelphia is a huge market and they are hungry for his autograph.

The signing would be expensive. Probably $500 or more. But, hey, a signing is better than no signing.

So in summary, I can see these new contracts being great for Harper's market as he may potentially do a signing now. I see Trout's market holding steady as it usually does.