bonus baby

American  

noun

1. an athlete who is paid a substantial bonus to sign their first professional contract.

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Etymology

Origin of bonus baby

First recorded in 1940–45

Example Sentences

Cartaya signed for $2.5 million as a 16-year-old but Barbary noted that his spending habits weren’t like that of the typical bonus baby.

From Los Angeles Times • Jul. 17, 2022

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Sandy Koufax didn’t spend an inning in the minor leagues, joining his home-town Brooklyn Dodgers as a bonus baby at the start of the 1955 season.

From The Guardian • Oct. 7, 2015

They described Mr. Bond as “a kind of political bonus baby of great potential who never has quite fulfilled the promise as a national leader that many of his admirers once envisioned.”

From Washington Post • Aug. 16, 2015

Several of their alumni have signed United States Major League contracts, including the outfielder Max Kepler, an $850,000 bonus baby now playing in the Minnesota Twins farm system.

From New York Times • Oct. 12, 2012

I was not a big bonus baby, I was not a big prospect.

From Seattle Times • Aug. 16, 2010