Nolan Ryan Signed Four-Year, $4.5 Million Deal on November 19th, 1979

Published on July 27th, 2024 2:40 pm EST
Written By: Dave Manuel


On November 19th, 1979, Nolan Ryan signed a monumental deal with the Houston Astros.

Ryan, who was 32 years of age at the time, signed a four-year, $4.5 million deal with the Houston Astros.

The deal, which pales in comparison to the monster contracts that are signed in this day and age, saw Nolan Ryan become the FIRST player in Major League Baseball to earn over $1 million per year.

This deal meant that Ryan was getting the equivalent of about $4.9 million in today's dollars.

This seems like a paltry sum in this day and age, but back in 1979, Nolan Ryan's contract was an enormous amount of money.

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The value of Nolan Ryan was easy to see.

Ryan was an inning-eating machine, as he had pitched over 300 innings in a season twice in his career already, and had nearly done so again in 1977.

Ryan was also a strikeout machine, as he had topped 300 strikeouts in a season five times in his career before signing with the Astros in 1979.

The Astros got exactly what they were looking for with Ryan - a guy who would consistently get you 10+ wins in a year while eating innings.

Ryan's best season with Houston came in 1981, when he posted a 11-5 record while posting an ERA of 1.69.

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When Nolan Ryan signed with the Astros in 1979, little did the world know that his career wasn't even half over.

Ryan would spend another 15 years in the league, playing for the Astros and eventually the Texas Rangers.

While the best years of his career came in his early 20s, Ryan managed to post 16 wins and over 300 strikeouts at the age of 42 during the 1989 season.

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Ryan's best earning season came in 1992 at the age of 45, when he earned $4.2 million.