Full year-by-year breakdown of Cooper Pratt’s contract ahead of his MLB debut

The Milwaukee Brewers are reportedly promoting No. 4-ranked prospect Cooper Pratt to the major league roster ahead of their series opener with the Cleveland Guardians tomorrow night. The move comes after weeks of Brewers fans calling for Pratt's promotion as the left side of Milwaukee's infield continued to struggle at the plate. Pratt, who the Brewers drafted back in 2023, will presumably become the team's everyday shortstop, seeing as the team and manager Pat Murphy consistently noted that a move wouldn't be made to promote the top prospect unless everyday opportunities were available.

The combination of Milwaukee's offensive underperformance from the left side of the infield and an eight-year contract extension that Pratt signed back in early April has had Brewers fans speculating about the MLB Pipeline Top 100 prospect's promotion for much of the 2026 season. Now, as the second half of June begins, the Brewers have finally made the call to add Pratt to their major league roster, and fans couldn't be more excited.

Pratt is in a unique position because of his aforementioned contract. Before Jackson Chourio signed an eight-year, $82 million deal during the offseason before his rookie season, the Brewers had never signed a player to a long-term contract extension prior to their MLB debut. However, now, they have not only added Pratt to that short list, but they've also agreed to a long-term deal with outfield prospect Luis Lara, signaling that Milwaukee's front office is now more willing to take financial gambles on prospects they truly believe in, knowing it's the organization's only hope of retaining their homegrown stars through their primes.

Pratt's deal is not quite as rich as Chourio's, but it does follow a similar blueprint. The 21-year-old Pratt, who wasn't as highly ranked of a prospect as Chourio, agreed to an eight-year, $50.75 million contract, with two club options on the end of the deal that are each worth $15 million. However, Pratt won't simply make $6.34 million per season as his deal might suggest. Rather, the breakdown of Pratt's contract not only eases the pressure off of his introduction to the league, but also affords the Brewers more financial flexibility in the coming seasons. Let's take a closer look at the year-by-year breakdown of Pratt's contract.

Cooper Pratt's eight-year contract is significantly back-loaded, giving the Brewers financial flexibility in the near term

While the average annual value (AAV) of Pratt's deal is $6.34 million, the Brewers' new shortstop won't actually make that much in a single season until 2032. The Brewers, knowing they will have a significant amount of money coming off their books in the coming seasons, opted to pay far more money in the seventh and eighth years of Pratt's contract -- which would have been free agent years had Pratt not agreed to the deal -- than at the beginning of his eight-year pact. Here's what the year-by-year breakdown looks like, according to Spotrac.com:

Cooper Pratt's year-by-year contract breakdown:

2026: $2,875,000

2027: $3,875,000

2028: $4,375,000

2029: $4,375,000

2030: $5,375,000

2031: $5,375,000

2032: $11,125,000

2033: $13,000,000

2034 (club option): $15,000,000

2035 (club option): $15,000,000

There are few notable milestones to point out within the timeframe of Pratt's contract. For starters, Brandon Woodruff's $22.025 million contract will be off the Brewers' books next season, seeing as the veteran right-hander agreed to the one-year qualifying offer this past November. Woody could be back on a modified deal, but it's unlikely, given his persistent injury concerns, that it's as rich as this year's salary.

Christian Yelich's nine-year, $215 million deal is up after the 2028 season, when the Brewers will still be paying Pratt a modest salary of $4.375 million. Yelich, who is making roughly $24 million per season, does have a mutual option worth $20 million for the 2029 campaign, but mutual options are seldom picked up by both the player and club.

Chourio's contract, which is similarly back-loaded, expires after the 2031 season, but the Brewers also hold two club options on the end of his deal. The Brewers will be paying Chourio a salary of $17.25 million in the final year of his contract in 2031, and the club options for the 2032 and 2033 season, which Milwaukee is likely to pick up, are each worth $25 million. It's therefore possible that in 2033, the Brewers will have $38 million tied to Chourio and Pratt alone, but given the production that each player is likely to provide, that could end up looking like a steal, especially as the financial landscape of Major League Baseball continues to shift.

Pratt's contract allows the young shortstop to grow into his role on the Brewers' big-league club. Given the financial structure, the pressure on Pratt won't be too severe at the beginning of his career, and the flexibility of the two club options at the end of the contract certainly work in the organization's favor.

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