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Giants' $43 million free agent signing ranked best in MLB history
Barry Bonds' 1993 contract with the Giants is considered the best free agent signing ever.
Apr. 10, 2026 at 11:50am by Ben Kaplan
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Cubist deconstruction of a legendary baseball player's swing captures the raw power and dynamism of the sport's greatest free agent signing.San Francisco TodayIn a new article, ESPN's Bradford Doolittle ranked the best and worst free agent signings in MLB history, and the top spot goes to the San Francisco Giants' 1993 signing of Barry Bonds to a 6-year, $43 million contract. Doolittle notes that even if Bonds' entire career bWAR came just from those 6 seasons, it would still rank 23rd all-time, highlighting the massive on-field impact of the deal.
Why it matters
The Bonds signing was a landmark moment in MLB free agency, as the $43 million contract was considered massive at the time. The deal helped transform the Giants into a powerhouse and Bonds into one of the greatest players in baseball history, despite the controversies that later surrounded his career.
The details
In 1993, the Giants signed Barry Bonds away from the Pittsburgh Pirates on a 6-year, $43 million contract. At the time, it was an enormous deal, but Bonds went on to have a Hall of Fame career in San Francisco, hitting 586 home runs and winning 7 MVP awards. Even if his entire career bWAR came just from those 6 seasons with the Giants, it would still rank 23rd all-time, showcasing the massive on-field impact of the signing.
- The Giants signed Bonds in 1993 as a free agent.
- Bonds played for the Giants from 1993 to 2007.
The players
Barry Bonds
A Hall of Fame outfielder who played for the Giants from 1993 to 2007, winning 7 MVP awards and becoming MLB's all-time home run leader with 762 career home runs.
San Francisco Giants
The MLB team based in San Francisco, California that signed Barry Bonds to a landmark free agent contract in 1993.
What they’re saying
“The Bonds deal, which by the definitions used in this study has a 14-year duration due to extensions, laps the field in terms of its on-field impact. If the only bWAR Bonds accrued during his career came from these seasons, his total of 109.1 would still rank 23rd on the all-time list. For me, the most remarkable thing about it is that the Giants were coming off an uninspiring 72-90 season when they made this splash.”
— Bradford Doolittle, ESPN Writer
The takeaway
The Giants' signing of Barry Bonds in 1993 to a then-record $43 million contract is considered the best free agent signing in MLB history, as Bonds went on to become one of the greatest players ever and transformed the Giants into a powerhouse despite the team's struggles the prior season.
