Babe Ruth's 1922 contract included a home run bonus

Athletes and coaches in professional sports are paid handsomely. So are many college coaches. And many are paid even more money than their mega-contracts provide them thanks to various incentives. For instance, that 10-year, $292 million deal Miguel Cabrera signed prior to the 2014 season with the Detroit Tigers included a $2 million bonus for winning American League Most Valuable Player (among several other perks). University of Kentucky men's basketball coach John Calipari already earns over $7.5 million annually — but gets extra cash for each year he remains in Lexington.

They can all thank one person: Babe Ruth.

That's a newspaper clipping from nearly a century ago tweeted by ESPN sports business reporter Darren Rovell that shows The Sultan of Swat earned an extra $500 for each home run he hit in 1922. That means that The Bambino could very well have been the first sports figure to have an incentive-laden deal. And the circumstances surrounding that season are even more intriguing: Ruth was suspended for the first six weeks by then-MLB commissioner Kenesaw Mountain Landis for off-season barnstorming. Perhaps the New York Yankees wanted to sweeten his reported $75,000 annual salary after the harsh penalty. Ruth went on to hit 35 homers in 110 games — good for $17,500 extra. That amount was more than Chief Justice Taft was paid. The former President was paid $15,000 that year.

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