Who is the first athlete to make $1000000?

The first athlete to earn a $1 million salary in a single season was baseball slugger Dave Parker. In 1978, Parker signed a 5-year, $5 million contract with the Pittsburgh Pirates that paid him $1 million annually, shattering previous salary records across professional sports at that time.

A Dramatic Rise in Athlete Salaries

For decades, even the biggest superstars made salaries that seem tiny by today‘s standards. In the 1920s, legendary baseball player Babe Ruth was the highest paid athlete, but his inflation-adjusted salary only equates to around $1.5 million in current dollars. By the 1950s and 1960s, standouts like Willie Mays, Sandy Koufax and Mickey Mantle were topping out at around $1 million per year in today‘s money. But no athlete had yet achieved a literal one million dollar annual payday.

That finally changed in the mid-1970s with the rise of free agency, a rapidly growing sports media landscape, and booming revenues. I‘m thrilled to walk you through this fascinating history and the pioneers who paved the way for today‘s massive contracts.

Dave Parker Becomes Baseball‘s First $1 Million Man

The historic breakthrough came in February 1978 when Dave Parker of the Pittsburgh Pirates signed a 5-year, $5 million contract, making him the first player to reach $1 million in annual salary. His total contract value more than doubled the previous record at the time.

Parker‘s big payday was fueled by back-to-back All-Star seasons in which he terrorized National League pitching. In 1977, the intimidating right fielder known as "The Cobra" led the league with 215 hits, a .338 batting average, and 42 doubles. He finished third in MVP voting while leading the Pirates to a division title.

The 26-year-old Parker built on that success in 1978 by making the All-Star team again en route to a .300 average, 44 doubles, and career-high 30 home runs. He established himself as one of baseball‘s most feared and well-rounded sluggers. The Pirates rewarded their star handsomely, making Parker a literal million dollar man for the next half-decade.

Million Dollar Threshold Crossed in Other Sports

While other baseball players also surpassed the $1 million plateau around the same time, including Nolan Ryan, Dave Parker was the very first. His contract ushered in an era of seven-figure salaries spreading across different sports:

• Basketball – In 1979, the legendary Kareem Abdul-Jabbar became the first NBA player to earn over $1 million.

• Boxing – Sugar Ray Leonard and Thomas Hearns made boxing history with the first million dollar purse in their epic 1981 welterweight showdown.

• Football – After the USFL‘s Steve Young signed a record $40 million deal in 1984, the NFL followed suit with Dan Marino‘s 5-year, $6 million contract in 1985.

• Hockey – The NHL lagged behind, finally reaching $1 million annually when Eric Lindros signed an 8-year, $31.5 million deal with Philadelphia in 1992.

Endorsements Reach Seven Figures

Mega salaries were supplemented by endorsement deals also crossing into seven figures around this time, with Michael Jordan leading the way:

• In 1984, rookie sensation Michael Jordan earned over $2 million annually from his trailblazing Nike partnership.

• In the late 1980s, Jordan earned roughly $7 million in salary from the Chicago Bulls versus over $10 million per year through endorsements and business ventures.

• By the early 1990s, Jordan‘s annual income surged over $30 million with his iconic status resonating globally.

Jordan built the blueprint for the modern, superstar business model of turning athletic stardom into a diversified media empire. But it was Dave Parker‘s courage to demand as well as earn a record paycheck that first proved the immense income potential of professional athletes.

Mega Contracts Today

Salaries have continued skyrocketing beyond the million dollar threshold since Dave Parker‘s breakthrough 1978 campaign:

• In 2022, the average salary in Major League Baseball surged to $4.4 million.

• The NBA‘s highest paid players now easily clear $50+ million per season, with Stephen Curry ($53 million) and LeBron James ($52 million) leading the way in 2022-23.

• The NFL‘s salary spending spree has even added multiple $50 million man like Aaron Rodgers joining the club with a 3-year, $150 million deal in 2022.

• In the NHL, superstars like Connor McDavid and Auston Matthews are earning between $16-18 million per season.

While seven-figure salaries for superstars are now common across sports, Dave Parker stands in history as the trailblazing first to prove an athlete‘s on-field talents could command a literal million dollar payday. His contract broke barriers and ushered in an era of seemingly endless earnings potential through sports stardom.