Aaron Judge bet on himself with the Yankees and it quite literally paid off in the biggest way

Aaron Judge will remain a New York Yankee for the next 9 years after reportedly agreeing to a new $360 million deal with the team.

One could argue that it’s a bad decision on his part, but it’s his decision. He wanted to remain in New York and they opened up the checkbook making it pretty easy for him to do so.

It seems like a no-brainer signing Judge to this massive deal now. He smashed 62 home runs last season on his way to winning the American League MVP trophy. That dude is an absolute baller.

The Yankees apparently didn’t always think he was this good, though. They offered him a 7-year, $213 million contract offer during Spring Training of last season that Judge was disappointed by.

So what does he do? He bets on himself. And it pays off in a major way to the tune of an extra two years on the deal, another $146.5 million and the highest average annual value in Major League Baseball at $40 million.

He broke Mike Trout’s AAV record by nearly $5 million, per Dennis Lin and Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic.

Judge’s deal, which is pending a physical, gives him the highest average annual value for a position player in major-league history, shattering Mike Trout’s previous mark of $35.5 million by almost $5 million. The deal is two years longer and worth $146.5 million more than the seven-year, $213.5 million extension offer Judge rejected from the Yankees at the end of spring training.

This is what betting on yourself looks like. It’s all about leverage. Not only did Judge have a phenomenal season last year, but he also had suitors in his pocket already in the San Diego Padres and San Francisco Giants.

He even flew to San Diego at the last minute to make a decision, which put enough pressure on the Yankees to bump up their initial offer to $360 million.

Aaron Judge flew into San Diego at the last minute to decide among three teams: the New York Yankees, the San Francisco Giants and the San Diego Padres. The Yankees bumped their offer to nine years and $360 million, and in the end, Judge decided he wanted to remain a Yankee.

— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) December 7, 2022

That’s what leverage looks like, folks. And that’s how you use it. Judge wanted to be a Yankee in the end. He got his wish and he got that cash. That’s a win.

Betting on yourself can go terribly sometimes. Things might not work out. But when they do? Whew boy, they work well.

Just take it from Aaron Judge here.