Ian Kennedy signed a five-year, $70 million contract with the Kansas City Royals before the 2016 season. Not only did most analysts consider Kennedy’s deal an overpay by the KC Royals, he also got an opt out after two years. Few people believed that Kennedy would ever exercise this clause, due to the the back-loaded nature of the deal.
The KC Royals got Kennedy for $21 million in the first two years of the contract. The final three years cost $16 million apiece. Fangraphs.com writer August Fagerstrom estimated that Kennedy would only be worth $19 million over the last three years of his deal.