For context:
MLB Draft's Two-Sport Stars Carry Big Risks, Big Rewards
Dudes who got paid to choose baseball over football:
Quote:
Righthander Zach Lee was considered one of the top high school pitchers in the 2010 draft, and he went 28th overall to the Dodgers. But because of Lee's leverage as a premium quarterback recruit for Louisiana State—where he would have played both sports—he signed for $5.25 million, the third-highest bonus in the 2010 draft class.
Outfielder Joe Borchard set a draft record (since broken) when the White Sox paid him a $5.3 million signing bonus in August 2000 to give up football. The Cubs gave righthander Jeff Samardzija, a fifth-round pick in 2006, a $10 million major league contract to persuade him to give up his chance to be an NFL wide receiver.
Back in 1998, Drew Henson signed for $2 million as the Yankees' third-round pick, even though his contract allowed him to also play football at Michigan. In 2001, the Yankees gave Henson a $17 million major league contract to get him to focus on baseball.
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Joe Mauer got $5 million to not play college football at all, Grady Sizemore got $2 million. None of these dudes won a Heisman.