Justin Verlander wants $200 million contract

Justin Verlander wants to be the first pitcher to command a $200 million contract. (Matthew Stockman, Getty Images)

Detroit Tigers ace Justin Verlander wants to be the first pitcher to make $200 million, according to a Yahoo! Sports report. Speaking to the site, Verlander made it clear that he considers himself the best pitcher in the major leagues and he expects to be compensated as such. Asked about the possibility of such a large contract, Verlander responded as such:

"I don't play this game to make the most money. But I do feel like it would be nice to be compensated for what I feel like I've been: one of the best, if not the best, the last few years. In my career, I feel like I've been one of the top. But the last two years, I've kind of separated myself, me and a handful of other guys.

"It's not a thing where I'm like, 'Hey, I want to be the highest-paid player,' where that's the chief goal. It innately comes with my competitiveness. That's just me. That's not why I play the game. I'm good at the game because of that side of me, because I'm competitive at everything I do."