In pro sports, many financial decisions are based on hope for the future—the signings of John Wall to the Wizards and Bryce Harper to the Nationals, for example—and others are efforts to maintain excellence, as in the Capitals’ signing Alex Ovechkin to a 13-year contract extension. The value of these investments is unpredictable—struggling pitcher Jason Marquis earned $7.5 million this year while Redskins tight-end wunderkind Chris Cooley made only $720,000. Either way, elite athletes command elite salaries, and everyone has two goals: win and get paid.
REDSKINS
Andre Carter, $4.5 million.
Chris Cooley, $720,000.
Phillip Daniels, $900,720.
Derrick Dockery, $3.2 million.
London Fletcher, $2.3 million.
Kedric Golston, $1.6 million.
DeAngelo Hall, $6.5 million.
Albert Haynesworth, $11 million.
Jeremy Jarmon, $949,236.
LaRon Landry, $6.1 million.
Donovan McNabb, $11.2 million.
Kareem Moore, $392,280.
Santana Moss, $7 million.
Brian Orakpo, $4.4 million.
Clinton Portis, $1.3 million.
Casey Rabach, $2.8 million.
Mike Sellers, $1.4 million.
Devin Thomas, $1.4 million.
Mike Shanahan, head coach, $7 million.
>> Next: Wizards and Capitals
WIZARDS
Gilbert Arenas, $17.7 million.
Andray Blatche, $5.9 million.
Kirk Hinrich, $9 million.
Josh Howard, $3 million.
Yi Jianlian, $4.1 million.
Flip Saunders, head coach, $4.75 million.
Kevin Seraphin, $1.6 million.
Al Thornton, $2.8 million.
John Wall, $5.1 million ($25-million Reebok contract before he was drafted).
CAPITALS
Karl Alzner, $1.7 million.
Nicklas Backstrom, $6 million.
Matt Bradley, $1 million.
Eric Fehr, $2.2 million.
Tomas Fleischmann, $2.6 million.
Mike Green, $5 million.
Mike Knuble, $2.8 million.
Brooks Laich, $2.4 million.
Michal Neuvirth, $821,667.
Alex Ovechkin, $9 million.
Alexander Semin, $6 million.
David Steckel, $1.1 million.
Semyon Varlamov, $821,667.
>> Next: Nationals
NATIONALS
Pitchers:
Miguel Batista, $1 million.
Tyler Clippard, $401,000.
Livan Hernandez, $900,000.
John Lannan, $458,000.
Jason Marquis, $7.5 million.
Stephen Strasburg, $3.76 million.
Catchers:
Wil Nieves, $700,000.
Ivan Rodriguez, $3 million.
Infielders:
Ian Desmond, $400,000.
Adam Dunn, $12 million.
Adam Kennedy, $1.25 million.
Ryan Zimmerman, $6.35 million.
Outfielders:
Roger Bernadina, $400,000.
Willie Harris, $1.5 million.
Nyjer Morgan, $426,500.
Up-and-coming power hitter Bryce Harper’s just-signed contract ($6.25 million over five years), pays him $500,000 his first year, plus a $1.25-million signing bonus.
>> Next: DC United and Mystics
DC UNITED
Danny Allsopp, $217,500.
Brandon Barklage, $40,000.
Branko Boskovic, $516,200.
Marc Burch, $81,500.
Pablo Hernandez, $249,091.
Julius James, $61,460.
Jaime Moreno, $185,000.
Andy Najar, $58,995.
Juan Peña, $40,000.
Troy Perkins, $205,000.
Conor Shanosky, $37,136.
Clyde Simms, $171,000.
MYSTICS
The Women’s National Basketball Association says little about players’ pay. The minimum salary for 2011 is $36,570; veteran players can earn up to $103,500. Players also can earn bonuses. Each member of the Mystics got a small bonus for making the playoffs this year. Bigger money comes from winning the WNBA championship—an extra $10,500 per player—or being named most valuable player, which carries a $15,000 reward.
This article first appeared in the November 2010 issue of The Washingtonian.
Contributing to this article were Marisa M. Kashino, Mary Clare Glover, Zac Farber, Anna Spiegel, Luke Mullins, Mollie Reilly, Elliot Kort, Caitlin Fairchild, Sherri Dalphonse, Emily Leaman, Katie Glueck, Jason Koebler, Cindy Rich, Kate Nerenberg, Denise Kersten Wills, Jack Limpert, Garrett M. Graff, and Ken DeCell.
Sherri Dalphonse joined Washingtonian in 1986 as an editorial intern, and worked her way to the top of the masthead when she was named editor-in-chief in 2022. She oversees the magazine’s editorial staff, and guides the magazine’s stories and direction. She lives in DC.
