5 richest contracts handed out in KC Royals history

3. Alex Gordon — 4 years, $72 million

To this day, left fielder Alex Gordon's four-year, $72 million contract (AAV of $18 million) is the largest free agent signing in Royals' history, but it was actually worth significantly less than he was expected to land in free agency.

When Gordon hit free agency at the end of 2015, he had just won a World Series title with Kansas City, had three consecutive All-Star selections to his name, and was largely considered one of the best left fielders in baseball. At the time, MLB Trade Rumors' Tim Dierkes projected Gordon would secure a five-year, $105 million deal, even going as far as to comment "Gordon’s earning power is around $100MM, so it’s hard to picture him accepting something below $75MM."

Well, there's a lot to be said for the hometown discount. It was clear Gordon had accepted a team-friendly deal to stay in Kansas City — not only was it worth less than expected, but his salary was heavily backloaded to allow the Royals to add more talent, per MLB.com's Jeffrey Flanagan. Gordon earned $12 million in 2016, $16 million in 2017, and $20 million in each of the 2018 and 2019 seasons. The star's contract also included a $23 million mutual option for the 2020 season with a $4 million buyout.

Although Gordon eventually declined his part of his mutual option to become a free agent at the end of the 2019 season, he did return the Royals in 2020 on a less-lucrative one-year, $4 million deal. The 8-time Gold Glove Award winner retired at the end of the 2020 season at the age of 36.

In 14 major-league seasons — all spent with the Royals — Gordon posted a .257/.338/.410 line with 190 home runs, 749 RBI, and 113 stolen bases in 1753 games.