Giancarlo Stanton $325 million 13 year contract: legit or scam?

Giancarlo Stanton signed that contract yesterday.  He can opt out but not until year six, which by then may be not such big bucks or may be no bucks if his team, the Florida Marlins, default.

Yesterday when I first heard that the contract was back loaded I thought that the Marlins owner was doing estate planning and intended to sell within a few years or until the contract started to benefit the player and not the owner.  The owner doesn't care if there are big bucks owed in several years if he does not expect to be the owner when stuff hits the fan.

I continue to be amazed at how many otherwise intelligent and educated people assure us that:
1. player compensation will only increase
2. TV revenue will only increase
3. contracts are iron clad
4. the money owed to players in the distant future is assured because it's in the contract.

Sounds like real estate and/or finance.

Bryce Harper April 2013
by Stegas4

I can see that Stanton had to take all that money.  What I don't understand is why he and his representative allowed the team to pay him so relatively little in the first few years.

In 2014 Stanton received $6.5 million.  In 2015, the first year of the new 13 year contract, Stanton will receive $6.5 million.  Say what?  Same pay after an MVP quality season.  No raise.  What the heck?

Stanton thinks this will let the team add good players so that they can build a winner.  Or it could be that Stanton is being played for a fool.  Then Stanton gets $9 million in 2016, then $14.4 million.  Then in 2018 at age 28 Stanton starts to receive pay that ranges between $25 and $32 million through 2028, age 38.  Here is Stanton's pay schedule followed by that for other prominent players, including Bryce Harper who is not yet eligible for salary arbitration and has yet to sign a big extension:

Stanton:

2015	25	Miami Marlins	$6,500,000
2016	26	Miami Marlins	$9,000,000
2017	27	Miami Marlins	$14,500,000
2018	28	Miami Marlins	$25,000,000
2019	29	Miami Marlins	$26,000,000
2020	30	Miami Marlins	$26,000,000		may opt out of contract following 2020 season
2021	31	Miami Marlins	$29,000,000
2022	32	Miami Marlins	$29,000,000
2023	33	Miami Marlins	$32,000,000
2024	34	Miami Marlins	$32,000,000
2025	35	Miami Marlins	$32,000,000
2026	36	Miami Marlins	$29,000,000
2027	37	Miami Marlins	$25,000,000
2028	38	Miami Marlins	*$25,000,000

Here's the pay schedule for:
Mike Trout:

2015	23	Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim	$5,250,000
2016	24	Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim	$15,250,000
2017	25	Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim	$19,250,000
2018	26	Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim	$33,250,000
2019	27	Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim	$33,250,000
2020	28	Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim	$33,250,000

Albert Pujols:

2015	35	Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim	$24,000,000
2016	36	Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim	$25,000,000
2017	37	Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim	$26,000,000
2018	38	Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim	$27,000,000
2019	39	Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim	$28,000,000
2020	40	Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim	$29,000,000
2021	41	Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim	$30,000,000

 Miguel Cabrera:

2015	32	Detroit Tigers	$22,000,000
2016	33	Detroit Tigers	$28,000,000
2017	34	Detroit Tigers	$28,000,000
2018	35	Detroit Tigers	$30,000,000
2019	36	Detroit Tigers	$30,000,000
2020	37	Detroit Tigers	$30,000,000
2021	38	Detroit Tigers	$30,000,000
2022	39	Detroit Tigers	$32,000,000
2023	40	Detroit Tigers	$32,000,000
2024	41	Detroit Tigers	*$30,000,000
2025	42	Detroit Tigers	*$30,000,000

Bryce Harper:

2015	22	Washington Nationals	$2,250,000	2.159
		Earliest Arb Eligible: 2016, Earliest Free Agent: 2019
Career to date (may be incomplete)			$5,150,000	Does not include future salaries ($2.25M)

In 2018:

Trout $32 million
Cabrera $30 million

Pujols $27 million

Stanton $25 million

Harper ???; last year before free agency