The Tribune News Service compiled a list of the ten highest-paid sports stars in Minnesota and a few of the names are those of players fans haven’t seen a whole lot of lately.
Topping the list is no surprise as Joe Mauer comes in at No. 1 with a salary of $23 million. The top ten are made up of five players from the Twins and two each from the Vikings, Wild and Timberwolves. Technically, there are 11 in all due to a tie.
- Joe Mauer: $23 million
- Ervin Santana: $13.5 million
- Adrian Peterson: $13 million
- Ricky Rubio: $12.7 million
- Nikola Pekovic: $12.1 million
- Ricky Nolasco: $12 million
- Torii Hunter: $10.5 million
- Mike Wallace: $9.9 million
- Phil Hughes: $9.2 million
- Zach Parise/Ryan Suter: $9 million
Santana is making his third start for the Twins in Thursday’s game against the Angels, but he missed the first 80 games of the season after testing positive for performance-enhancing drugs. The Tribune News Service does note that Santana had to forfeit $5.9 million because of the suspension.
Santana signed the richest contract for a free-agent pitcher in Twins history during the offseason. His deal surpassed Nolasco’s four-year, $49 million deal, which he hasn’t come close to living up to. He’s posted a 5.40 ERA in 190 2/3 innings since signing with the Twins and he’s currently in a walking boot recovering from ankle surgery, according to MLB.com.
Rubio played in only 22 games last season after suffering a nasty foot/ankle injury. While his shooting percentage left something to be desired, Rubio was quite effective when healthy, averaging 10.3 points, 8.8 assists and 5.7 rebounds.
Pekovic was limited to 31 games in 2014-15 due to an ankle injury and eventually his season ended with surgery. Kyle Ratke from the Timberwolves’ official website wrote that Pekovic’s future is probably as a role player logging 15 to 25 minutes a game.
Meanwhile, Peterson just got a reported $20 million in guaranteed money over the next two years from the Vikings. Wallace’s contract was inherited by the Vikings after they made a trade with the Dolphins to get him.
Kevin Garnett, earlier this month, signed on to play two more years with the Timberwolves. The Star Tribune reported the deal is worth a total of $16 million, putting him just outside the top ten.
