Sports are much bigger businesses than they seem. In fact, aside from business tycoons and celebrities, some of the richest men in the world are athletes. Just last summer, French Football entity Monaco purchased Radamel Falcao for not less than $80 million. Apparently, when a sports team eyes a certain player, it is willing to pay millions just to get that player. Most of the biggest names in the sports industry today are paid millions in every game that they play. For one, Paris St. Germain shelled out a whopping $85 million just to be able to get Edinson Cavani to play for a single game. There also is Real Madrid which offered $100 million to Tottenham Hotspurs just for the rights to Welsh sensation Gareth Bale. Imagine how rich the sports industry is that it can pay as much amount of money to a team or a player who is not even one of the most sought after at all. What is even more surprising is that these amounts are still exclusive of the amount of the actual contract between the player and the team. Here is a list of the ten largest sports contracts in the field of sports for 2013:

10. Ryan Howard, Baseball, 2013-17, $125 million

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This is one of the largest sports contracts listed on this list. Ryan Howard is most famous for the name “The Big Piece.” Known as the first baseman of the Philadelphia Phillies, this 6’4 lefthander was recognized as the National League MVP in year 2006 and has been known as the fastest player to homer 100 and 200 times. He is one of the highest paid athletes today because he was the one who remarkably helped his team to the World Series championship in 2008. Since the beginning of his career, he has also been a homerun champion twice and an RBI champion thrice in the National League.

9. Joe Flacco, American Football, 2013-18, $130.6 million

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Known by the name “Joe Cool,” Joe Flacco has always been the one who led the Baltimore Ravens to the post season in each of his five years in the National Football League (NFL). His value as an athlete even shoot up following the end of the last season after he had led his team to a Super Bowl title. Today, he is considered as the football athlete with the strongest arm in the league. He also led his team to an improbably comeback win over the Denver Broncos during the conference semifinals. Several times has he been recognized as the MVP of the season since the beginning of his career and this  has been one of the biggest sports endorsement contracts.

8. Calvin Johnson, American Football, 2012-19, $132 million

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Calvin Johnson is particularly known for his size, speed, perfect hand eye coordination, leaping ability and impressive body control. Known today as “the perfect wide receiver,” Calvin Johnson is also called as “Megatron” by the fans of Detroit Lions. He currently holds National Football League records for several awards such as “most receiving yards in a single season,” “most consecutive games with more than 10 receptions,” “most consecutive games with 100 yard receptions,” and “most games with more than 100 yard receptions in a single season.” Considering all these recognitions, it is without a doubt that he is one of the highest paid athletes today. This is the largest sports contract ever in the field of football.

7. Cole Hamels, Baseball, 2013-18, $144 million

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Cole Hamels rose to fame following his MVP performance during the 2008 post season, when he posted a 4-0 record as Philadelphia Phillies won the World Series. A left handed starting pitcher for the team, he successfully finished up the season and was even awarded with the “Babe Ruth Award” because of his outstanding performance in the field. Throughout his career, Hamels has appeared in a total of three all-star baseball games.

6. Adrian Gonzalez, Baseball, 2012-18, $154 million

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On top of his being the first baseman of the Los Angeles Dodgers, Adrian Gonzalez has had more than enough achievements as an athlete that warrant him one of the biggest sports contracts today. He had his debut in the major league in year 2004 under the Texas Rangers Team. After the enlistment, he moved to the San Diego Padres and started to become an all-star. When he had his transfer to the Boston Red Sox, he was already one of the most sought after athletes in the area of football so he was awarded with one of the biggest sports contracts in history. He has already been a four-time all star and three-time Gold Glove recipient ever since he became a professional baseball player.

5. Matt Kemp, Baseball, 2012-19, $160 million

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Currently an outfielder for the Los Angeles Dodgers, Matt Kemp is one of the few athletes who successful topped the National League in both homeruns and RBIs. Throughout his career, Kemp has barely missed out on the Triple Crown because of his excellent plays in the field. He also successfully emerged second in terms of number of stolen bases in baseball. On top of that, he won his second Gold Glove and Silver Slugger Awards in 2011. He was also the recipient of the Hank Aaron Award and Player of the Year Award that same year.

4. Floyd Mayweather, Boxing, 2013-2015, $180 million

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Dubbed today as the best boxer in the world pound-for-pound, Floyd Mayweather has emerged champion in a total of five different weight divisions since the beginning of his career as a boxer. In 2012, he was hailed as the highest paid athlete in the world based n the rankings made by Forbes and Sports Illustrated. It is said that the contract that he signed last year was the richest on a yearly basis, since his partnership with Showtime Networks only requires six fights in a span of over two years. This is biggest sports contract ever signed in the boxing history of the world.

3. Prince Fielder, Baseball, 2012-20, $214 million

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The first baseman of the Detroit Tigers, Prince Fielder has been an all star five times and currently holds the record for “most consecutive games played.” What makes him more commendable as a player is that he is the youngest in the American League to have hit a total of 50 home runs in just a single season. Currently, he holds the Milwaukee Brewers team record for homeruns in a season.

2. Joey Votto, Baseball, 2014-23, $225 million

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This is one of the largest sports contracts of all time. Canadian superstar Joey Votto is known as the first baseman of the Cincinnati Reds. In 2010, he won the National League MVP and the Hand Aaron award, and was recognized in Canada with the Lou Marsh Award as the country’s athlete of the year. In the following year, he was the recipient of the Gold Glove award. Since his career, he has been to all star games four times and thrice has he led the National League in one-base percentage.

1. Albert Pujols, Baseball, 2012-21, $240 million

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Albert Pujols first made his name when he played for the St. Louis Cardinals and won several World Series titled in 2008 and 2011. He is the first baseman of the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim and was recognized as the Rookie of the Year in 2011. He was also recognized as the National League MVP in years 2005, 2008 and 2009 and was the first player in history to hit for 500 doubles during his first 12 seasons. Currently in the World Series, he holds the records for most number of homeruns, hits, and RBIs in a single game. This is the largest sports contract ever signed in the history.