Jackson Merrill's extension with the Padres is a rare win-win for player and team

After his breakout rookie season in 2024, it was not a matter of if Jackson Merrill would sign a contract extension with the San Diego Padres. It was a matter of when.

And on Wednesday, the time arrived.

The Padres and Merrill are in agreement on a nine-year, $135 million extension that begins in 2026 and could reach $204 million with incentives and escalators, sources confirmed to Yahoo Sports. The deal secures one of MLB’s brightest young stars with the Friars for the next decade.

Merrill, now 21, burst onto the scene last season, showing not only that he could hold his own as a major-league center fielder but also that he was already a superstar at the age of 20. After he was drafted as a shortstop and played that position during his quick rise through the minor leagues, San Diego transitioned Merrill to center field for the first time last spring. And it didn’t take long for the team — and the league — to realize that this was no ordinary 20-year-old.

In his first MLB season, Merrill slashed .292/.326/.500 in 156 games and led all rookies in batting average, hits (162), home runs (24), extra-base hits (61) and RBI (90). He also thrived defensively, rating +11 in outs above average in center. Merrill became the first Padres rookie to make the All-Star Game, he finished second in NL Rookie of the Year voting behind Paul Skenes, and he helped power San Diego to 93 wins and a spot in the postseason.

Through six games played in 2025, Merrill is slashing .400/.435/.600, with six RBI, one home run and a 190 OPS+.

The Padres and president of baseball operation AJ Preller have never been afraid to reward their stars and invest in the future. San Diego signed Fernando Tatis Jr. to a 15-year, $341 million extension in 2021, Manny Machado has signed two $300 million deals with the organization, Xander Boegarts is on an 11-year, $280 million free-agent deal, and Jake Cronenworth received a seven-year, $80 million extension in 2023.

At the same time, the unknown nature of the Padres’ ownership situation — and the dispute between the late Peter Seidler’s widow, Sheel, and his brothers, Nick, Robert and John — has cast some doubt on the future direction of this franchise, including whether new deals with young stars can reach the finish line. But in this case, the deal is a win for both sides, giving both Merrill and the Padres something they wanted.

Sources told Yahoo Sports that the extension includes a $10 million signing bonus, and Merrill will receive $1 million in each season that he reaches 500 plate appearances from 2030 through 2035. The final year of the contract becomes a $30 million player option if Merrill finishes in the top five of MVP voting in any season of the deal. The contract also includes escalators for top-10 MVP finishes. All together, the extension maxes out at $204 million.

Compared to most long-term deals with those kinds of escalators, the structure of this contract should allow the Padres’ young star to hit those milestones and incentives rather easily, given his trajectory thus far, and by signing an extension so early in his career, Merrill gets a big raise in the short term. Meanwhile, the contract provides San Diego with some financial relief during the front half of the deal, before Merrill’s salary escalates in the 2030s. It’s a rare win-win for team and player: Merrill gets attainable and guaranteed cash, and the Padres get a lower average annual value over the length of the deal, as well as a young star to build around.

Merrill has spoken often in recent months about his desire to be a Padre for the long haul. Many players as young as he is, with a year of service time and a superstar trajectory, would hold out for more money or even wait to become free agents. But sources told Yahoo Sports that the new face of the Padres franchise wanted to get a deal done and know where he would be playing for the foreseeable future.

With the team off to a 6-0 start, things couldn’t be going better in San Diego as the 2025 season gets underway, and with another key piece of the team’s core now under club control for the next decade, the Padres’ window of contention has never been more open.

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Jackson Merrill’s extension with the Padres is a rare win-win for player and team

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