Angels’ star Mike Trout more deserving of being highest paid athlete than Patrick Mahomes

Angels outfielder and MLB’s top star Mike Trout is no longer the highest-paid athlete in sports, but he deserves to be.

On Sunday night, news broke that had a direct tie to Los Angeles Angels star Mike Trout. While the best player in baseball is generally in the news for what he does on the diamond, Trout was instead front and center for something that another athlete accomplished, one that isn’t even involved in baseball.

Mike Trout is no longer the highest-paid athlete in sports.

The mantle has been passed on to another transcendent athlete, as Patrick Mahomes II now wears the crown. The quarterback and the Kansas City Chiefs agreed to a 10-year, $503 million deal according to Adam Schefter of ESPN. That contract surpasses the 12-year, $426.5 million deal that Trout inked with the Angels prior to the 2019 season.

There is no doubting the value that Mahomes has provided to the Kansas City Chiefs during his first two full seasons as the team’s starting quarterback. He’s already been the youngest QB in NFL history to win the league MVP award (since surpassed by Lamar Jackson) and helped end a 50-year Super Bowl drought for the Chiefs in 2020. His on-field exploits are also weekly fodder for the highlight reels on Sunday night.

But is he as valuable as Mike Trout?

While it’s a bit like comparing apples to oranges, we’re going to attempt to look at which, Patrick Mahomes II or Mike Trout is more deserving of wearing the crown of the highest-paid athlete in sports.

Patrick Mahomes II vs Mike Trout: Track Record

Okay, it may not be entirely fair to compare the two based on track record, but when you are discussing who has done more to earn their big payday, it has to be taken into consideration.

Mahomes has been lightning in a bottle for the Chiefs since they selected him with the 10th overall pick in the 2017 NFL Draft. While he played in just one game as a rookie, Andy Reid saw enough in his arm to ship off Alex Smith and name Mahomes the starter heading into the 2018 season.

What a decision that turned out to be. Mahomes won the NFL MVP in his first full season behind center, leading the Chiefs to a 12-4 record while throwing for 5097 yards and 50 touchdowns. He led the league in touchdowns, TD% (8.6), Average Yards/Attempt (9.6), QBR (80.4), total offense (5,198 yards), and approximate value (22).

Mahomes came back strong in 2019 but dealt with some injury issues that cost him two games on the season. He still threw for 4031 yards (10th), 26 touchdowns (9th), registered a 76.3 QBR (2nd), and had an approximate value of 17 (7th). Most importantly, the Chiefs won their first Super Bowl since 1970, with Mahomes taking home MVP honors.

That’s a pretty solid start to a career, but it is, of course, a start. At just 24-years-old, Mahomes is just an infant when it comes to career accomplishments. On the other hand, we have Mike Trout.

Trout has been in the MLB eight and a half seasons and has been a tour de force for the Angels since his debut. The 28-year-old owns a lifetime batting line of .305/.419/.581 with 285 home runs, 903 runs scored, and 752 RBI. He has led the league in fWAR (Wins Above Replacement) in 7 of his nine full seasons in the league.

In terms of individual awards, Mike Trout has captured three American League Most Valuable Player awards, finished second on three other occasions, and won the Rookie of the Year award in 2012.

Track Record Winner: Mike Trout

It’s hard to argue against Trout when it comes to the overall track record. With Mahomes only having the two full seasons under his belt, he has some catching up to do in that department, even if we’re talking two different sports.

Patrick Mahomes II vs Mike Trout: Value

So through two categories, Mike Trout and Patrick Mahomes II are tied in regards to who better deserves this title. However, we have one final category that will tilt the discussion in favor of Trout.

When it comes to overall value, Trout has been one of the most valuable players of all time despite having played in just eight and a half seasons. According to FanGraphs, Trout ranks 41st overall in the game, computed by translating fWAR to Dollars and compensating for differences of generations. That shows Trout as worth $210.9 million thus far, while the outfielder has earned just $152,834,499 in actual compensation. That’s a return of $58,065,501 to the positive for the Angels.

When not adjusted for generations, Trout has been worth $562.6 million according to FanGraphs. Even if Trout doesn’t play another inning for the Angels, he would have outearned the remaining $408,833,336 by $153.77 million.

However, since I am unable to find a comparable stat for the NFL, let’s simply look at a comparison of AV (Approximate Value) and fWAR (Wins Above Replacement), baseball’s value calculator.

For his two-plus seasons, Mahomes has a combined AV of 40. He led the league in the category during his MVP season of 2018 with 22 but finished 7th last season when Lamar Jackson led the league with 24. It was still an excellent value of 17, especially considering he missed two games.

As previously mentioned Trout has led the league in fWAR during seven of his nine full seasons and has finished no lower than 4th in the category, in 2017 when he missed 46 games due to midseason thumb surgery.

Value Winner: Mike Trout

When it comes down to value, while Mahomes could put up a solid argument with delivering the Super Bowl trophy, Trout has simply been consistently undervalued, even by his steep contract standards. While they haven’t gotten a title from him (thanks to poor pitching), the Angels have received more than their share of value over the years.

Patrick Mahomes II vs Mike Trout: Overall Winner

As much as any sports fan needs to love Patrick Mahomes II, and he has every opportunity to become on of the greatest quarterbacks of all-time, this discussion comes down to who deserves to be the highest-paid athlete of all-time. Can you really judge such a thing based on two years of contributions to the game?

Meanwhile, Mike Trout already ranks among the greatest players to ever play the game of baseball and is entering the prime of his career having already produced statistics that could garner him a Hall of Fame nod. While he hasn’t won a title or even had much success in the postseason, it’s also hard to omit his worthiness over a team accomplishment.

With all this in mind, there is one thing that is readily apparent. Despite still holding the crown as baseball’s highest-paid player, Mike Trout is still drastically underpaid for what he brings to the game. Mahomes meanwhile will have the pressure of delivering on that contract in a game that longevity isn’t always achievable.

As such, and maybe because we are an Angels’ site, after all, the feeling here is that Mike Trout is more worthy of holding the title of the highest-paid athlete in sports. Had Mahomes signed this deal a few years down the road, with more of a track record to stake his claim, this conversation would have been a bit tougher.

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In the end, Mahomes holds the title and now has to earn it, at least until the next big cheese comes along.