On This Day in Sports: February 29, 1972
On February 29, 1972, Hank Aaron signed a three-year, $600,000 contract with the Atlanta Braves. The agreement paid him $200,000 per season, making him the highest-paid player in baseball at the time. Aaron had just completed one of his greatest offensive years, hitting a career-high 47 home runs in 1971 while continuing his steady climb toward Babe Ruth’s career record.
The salary recognized performance that had often been described as quietly consistent despite its historic scale. Aaron had produced at least 30 home runs in thirteen seasons and had already accumulated more total bases than almost any player in the game. At the end of 1971 he stood at 639 career homers, close enough to Ruth’s 714 that every new season would bring increasing national attention.
The contract also reflected baseball’s changing labor economy. Star salaries were rising as players challenged long-standing restrictions on movement and bargaining power. Aaron’s deal did not make him fully free to choose an employer, but it placed his compensation closer to his value as an elite player, a franchise attraction and the central figure in the sport’s most visible statistical pursuit.
Aaron passed Ruth with his 715th home run in April 1974 and finished with 755, all while enduring racist abuse and extraordinary public pressure. The leap-day agreement became a marker on that journey. It acknowledged a career already worthy of the highest salary in the game before the home-run record made his achievement impossible for the broader public to overlook.
The three-year agreement was worth $600,000, or $200,000 per season.
Aaron became the highest-paid player in baseball at the time.
He entered 1972 with 639 career home runs after hitting 47 the previous season.
The contract arrived as player salaries and labor power were beginning to grow.
Aaron surpassed Ruth’s record with his 715th home run in April 1974.
He retired with 755 home runs and one of baseball’s most complete offensive records.
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