2012 was the first year of Ryan Howard’s six-year contract. Because of a torn Achilles tendon, he only played 71 games in 2012, hitting only 14 home runs and batting .219.
In 2013, he had to have surgery on the torn left meniscus. Therefore he only played 80 games. He hit only 11 home runs. This led him to 2014, the third year of his six-year contract.
In the next three seasons, Howard was able to play most of the year but he was not effective. His averages were .223, .229, and .196. He did manage to hit over 20 home runs each year but never drove in 100 runs again. The final year of his contract was a team option which the Phillies declined. Howard became a free agent. He signed a minor league contract with the Braves and then the Rockies but never played a major league game again.
From the moment the large six-year contract kicked in, Howard stopped producing. In the five seasons with the Phillies, he was hurt for two of them and never batted over .229 in the last three seasons. He did receive $135 million in the new deal of 2011.
