Max Scherzer is still collecting checks from Washington, even as he weighs retirement from the Blue Jays.

The Nationals signed him before the 2015 season to a seven-year, $210 million deal, with $105 million of it deferred.

That structure dropped his annual average value against the salary cap by about $2 million per season under league rules, while also giving Washington more real cash on hand for other players at the time.

The deferred payments were structured at $15 million annually from 2022 through 2028.

As the 2026 season ends, Scherzer has already received five years of those payments. Two more remain, meaning $30 million is still coming his way regardless of what he decides about playing next season.

Why that deal already paid for itself in Washington

That fact likely won't influence his decision on whether to keep pitching. He's said before he'll continue as long as he feels capable of getting through a full season.

But it does mean that even if he hangs up his cleats for good, real paydays still await him.

The original signing was a statement of intent from the Nationals, and it delivered. In 2019, after a rocky start and a wild turnaround, Washington won the World Series.

Scherzer was dominant that postseason, appearing six times across 30 innings with 37 strikeouts and a 2.40 ERA.

His 2.92 ERA that regular season was actually his worst of three straight years in Washington, trailing a 2.51 and 2.53 in the two seasons prior. He opened his Nationals tenure with five consecutive sub-3.00 ERA seasons.

Across 189 games in Washington, he posted a 2.80 ERA with 1,610 strikeouts over 1,229 innings, an 11.8 K/9 rate.

He didn't finish his Nationals tenure on his own terms, though. Washington traded him and Trea Turner to the Dodgers in July 2021 for Keibert Ruiz, Josiah Gray, Gerardo Carrillo, and Donovan Casey, a package that looked promising at the time but hasn't fully panned out since.

Whatever comes next for Scherzer, the Nationals can always point to one undeniable fact. Every dollar they've sent him since has been payment for turning their franchise into a World Series champion, something no return trade package could ever take away.