Clayton Kershaw Just Announced His Retirement. Here's How Much He Made During His 18-Year Career

Clayton Kershaw has had a career most pitchers can only dream of. He won three Cy Young Awards and made 11 All-Star teams, won the 2014 National League MVP and has earned two World Series titles. For good measure, he's thrown a no-hitter, has led the NL three times in both wins and strikeouts, and earned the Pitching Triple Crown in 2011. Perhaps just as impressively, all of Kershaw's accomplishments happened with one team. He's spent 18 seasons with the Los Angeles Dodgers, and now, he's calling it quits.

Kershaw announced today that this season will be his last one in the majors. His final home start is on Friday, September 19. When he hangs up his cleats at the end of the year, he'll do so as one of the highest-earning players in MLB history.

Per Spotrac, Kershaw's career earnings will wind up at $314,676,411. That puts him seventh on the top earners list of all time, and he's the fourth highest-paid pitcher ever.

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Kershaw won't hold onto that seventh slot for long; Mike Trout is about $11.5 million behind Kershaw. After this season, Trout still has five years left on his contract, which was a record when he signed it, worth $426.5 million over 12 seasons. Still, retiring comfortably as a top-ten earner in MLB history is a major accomplishment.

Last season, Kershaw looked like he might be out of gas. He underwent shoulder surgery during the 2023 offseason and missed the first half of the 2024 campaign. When he returned, he only managed 30 innings in seven starts, finishing with a 2-2 record and a 4.50 ERA, before bowing out with a bone spur in his big left toe. All of those numbers were career lows.

Kershaw missed the beginning of this season following surgery on his toe and left knee. Yet when he returned, he's looked like the dominant ace of his prime. Regardless of what happens in his final few games, he'll retire with over 3,000 strikeouts, well over 200 wins, and an ERA around 2.50. Those are fantastic numbers. He's a sure-fire lock for the Hall of Fame and will be eligible beginning in 2031.

He could also go out as a champion, too. The Dodgers won the World Series last year and are among the favorites as we headed into the postseason. It would be a mighty fine cherry on top of a very impressive career.