Outfielder Bryce Harper agreed to a record-setting, 13-year $330-million contract with the Philadelphia Phillies on Thursday, completing a protracted, four-month journey through free agency and officially ending his seven-year tenure with the Washington Nationals, the franchise that drafted and developed him, brought him to the majors as a teenager in 2012 and watched him blossom into a superstar.
Harper’s deal with one of the Nationals’ biggest rivals surpassed Giancarlo Stanton’s 2014 extension with the Miami Marlins, a 13-year $325-million deal, as the largest contract in the history of major North American sports. But agent Scott Boras fell short of making Harper the highest-paid player in the game by annual salary.