# Who was the first million-dollar athlete?
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-was-the-first-million-dollar-athlete/45359
**Category:** Factual Questions
**Created:** [December 13, 2000, 3:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-was-the-first-million-dollar-athlete/45359 "2000-12-13T15:07:37Z")
**Posts on this page:** 16
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@Hokienautic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hokienautic)
#### Post date: [December 13, 2000, 3:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-was-the-first-million-dollar-athlete/45359/1 "2000-12-13T15:07:37Z")
Now that things are COMPLETELY out of control with A-Rod’s $50-per-minute salary … who was the first athlete to break the magical seven-figure barrier (contract value only … no endorsement figures please)? Anyone know for sure? The best guesses my friends have come up with are Nolan Ryan and Mike Schmidt.
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### Author:  [@Duck\_Duck\_Goose](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duck_Duck_Goose)
#### Post date: [December 13, 2000, 3:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-was-the-first-million-dollar-athlete/45359/2 "2000-12-13T15:11:15Z")
Just off the top of my head: Catfish Hunter, the Yankees, early 1970’s.
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### Author:  [@hardcore](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hardcore)
#### Post date: [December 13, 2000, 3:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-was-the-first-million-dollar-athlete/45359/3 "2000-12-13T15:28:54Z")
I remember it as Nolan Ryan (IMO one of the greatest pitchers ever) in 1983 when he came to the Astros.
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### Author:  [@bibliophage](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bibliophage)
#### Post date: [December 13, 2000, 3:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-was-the-first-million-dollar-athlete/45359/4 "2000-12-13T15:33:12Z")
It depends on what you mean by million-dollar player. Do you mean cumulative earnings of $1 million over a career, or a multi-year contract worth over $1 million, or a one-year contract over $1 million?
Going on the assumption you mean $1 million in one year, I’m going to agree with **hardcore** that I was (I think) Nolan Ryan, but I thought it was earlier than 1983.
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### Author:  [@headshok](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/headshok)
#### Post date: [December 13, 2000, 3:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-was-the-first-million-dollar-athlete/45359/5 "2000-12-13T15:34:22Z")
Nolan Ryan was the first baseball player to receive a $1 million average salary (over four years, starting in 1979). [This page](http://espn.go.com/mlb/index.html#) has a link to a graph of average salaries in baseball over the last 30 years (go to the page and click on the “Salary explosion” link).
BTW, **Hokie** nautic, are you a Virginia Tech student/alum? Just wondering.
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### Author:  [@headshok](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/headshok)
#### Post date: [December 13, 2000, 3:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-was-the-first-million-dollar-athlete/45359/6 "2000-12-13T15:37:11Z")
Oops. That should be “starting in 1980”, not 1979. My bad.
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### Author:  [@Hokienautic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hokienautic)
#### Post date: [December 13, 2000, 3:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-was-the-first-million-dollar-athlete/45359/7 "2000-12-13T15:44:21Z")
Looks like Nolan Ryan it is … thanks for the link, headshok. Baseball’s always led the pack in terms of salaries, correct? So it’s very unlikely that another sport had a million dollar man before our national pasttime, I’d guess.
And to answer your question, I’m a 1995 VT grad, and still a sports fan there too. Are you a fan/grad as well? If you’re interested in VT sports discussion, check out [http://www.TechSideline.com](http://www.TechSideline.com) and its message board. Pretty good site for VT news and chat.
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### Author:  [@Starbury](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Starbury)
#### Post date: [December 13, 2000, 3:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-was-the-first-million-dollar-athlete/45359/8 "2000-12-13T15:50:21Z")
Is the question limited to just baseball players?
I believe that there was a player in the ABA, prior to Nolan Ryan’s 1980 contract, who was given a lifetime contract valued at over 1 million dollars.
It may have been Darryl Dawkins…
Anyway, I will look into it and post later if I can find the information.
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### Author:  [@KarlGauss](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KarlGauss)
#### Post date: [December 13, 2000, 4:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-was-the-first-million-dollar-athlete/45359/9 "2000-12-13T16:06:34Z")
When **Joe Namath** was signed with the Jets in 1965, it was for an amazing $400,000.00. In current terms, that amount is equivalent to $2,089,617.36 according to [this site](http://www.westegg.com/inflation/).
At the time, it was big news that any player could be worth that much.
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### Author:  [@headshok](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/headshok)
#### Post date: [December 13, 2000, 4:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-was-the-first-million-dollar-athlete/45359/10 "2000-12-13T16:12:55Z")
[hijack]
Hokienautic: I’m not a grad, but I’m a longtime fan. Thanks for the link. Go Hokies!
[/hijack]
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### Author:  [@bernse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bernse)
#### Post date: [December 13, 2000, 7:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-was-the-first-million-dollar-athlete/45359/11 "2000-12-13T19:39:24Z")
I seem to recall Gretzky having some milestone to that effect…maybe it was the first hockey player though.
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### Author:  [@Lance\_Turbo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lance_Turbo)
#### Post date: [December 13, 2000, 8:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-was-the-first-million-dollar-athlete/45359/12 "2000-12-13T20:03:52Z")
From a [Pele bio](http://www.360soccer.com/pele/pelebio.html) on the web.
> [@](#):
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> The legendary athlete retired in 1974 but made a comeback in 1975 after accepting a reported 7-million-dollar contract for three years with the New York Cosmos of the North American Soccer League.
Looks like Pele wins by getting 2.3 million in 1975, and possibly getting paid over a million a year earlier in his career.
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### Author:  [@hardcore](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hardcore)
#### Post date: [December 13, 2000, 8:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-was-the-first-million-dollar-athlete/45359/13 "2000-12-13T20:11:28Z")
I don’t know why I had 1983 stuck in my head. Hell, by then, Ryan had already pitched a no-hitter for the Astros!
**Starbury** , thanks for bringing up Dawkins, one of my NBA favorites during my wasted youth. For that, I must dunk in your face, and name it “Chocolate Thunder Flying, Robinzine Crying, Teeth Shaking, Glass Breaking, Rump Roasting, Bun Toasting, Wham, Bam, Glass-Breaker-I-Am Jam.”
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### Author:  [@Duck\_Duck\_Goose](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duck_Duck_Goose)
#### Post date: [December 13, 2000, 8:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-was-the-first-million-dollar-athlete/45359/14 "2000-12-13T20:22:05Z")
The OP was poorly defined.
[http://www.sportslawnews.com/archive/history/ht10.htm](http://www.sportslawnews.com/archive/history/ht10.htm)
> [@](#):
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> At the end of the 1974 season, Hunter (with help from the Major League Baseball Players’ Association) discovered a breach of his contract…
>
> …Over 20 teams sought his services and ultimately Hunter signed the baseball’s first multi-million dollar contract. His five-year $3.25 million deal with the New York Yankees included a $1 million signing bonus, life insurance and deferred compensation and a $150,000 annual salary.
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### Author:  [@dp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dp)
#### Post date: [December 13, 2000, 8:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-was-the-first-million-dollar-athlete/45359/15 "2000-12-13T20:39:47Z")
I think that Muhammed Ali played a large role in getting athletes paid enormous sums of money. He started getting $1 mil+ for each fight in the 70’s. His large paychecks helped athletes in other sports realize how much money was being made off of sports. Many of the top pros in all sports began demanding unheard-of salaries.
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### Author:  [@Ike\_Witt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ike_Witt)
#### Post date: [December 13, 2000, 9:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-was-the-first-million-dollar-athlete/45359/16 "2000-12-13T21:06:59Z")
I always thought that Bobby Hull signed the first million dollar contract when he jumped to the WHA from the NHL.
> [@](#):
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> Hull’s arrival was the fulfilment of a dream some thought ambitious and others foolish. Ben Hatskin was the owner of the Winnipeg franchise in the embryonic World Hockey Association. He thought a $2.75-million contract would lure Hull away from the Chicago Blackhawks and bring his league instant credibility.
This happened in 1972. Granted the contract was for 5 or 7 years, I think that $1 Million of it was a signing bonus.