Only a handful of Major League Baseball stars have signed contracts in excess of $100 million. Some have been worth it it. Others? Not so good.

In the past decade, fourteen baseball players have signed free agent contracts that exceeded $100 million in total compensation. A handful of those players have been worth it. Others have been pretty disappointing. For every Alex Rodriguez, there's a Mike Hampton. For each Manny Ramirez, there is a Kevin Brown. Here is a report card for those players who have signed nine figure contracts as free agent baseball players. They don't all get high marks.

The Best of Baseball's $100 million

Alex Rodriguez (Texas Rangers, 10 year-$252 million)

A-Rod signed the biggest contract in sports history prior to the start of the 2001 season. His 10-year, $252 million deal with the Texas Rangers literally shocked baseball. Rumors had set his deal closer to $190 million before Tom Hicks banked up the Brinks Truck and made Rodriguez 1/4 of a billionaire.

But, no matter how one slices it, A-Rod deserves an A for his performance under the seven years of the contract, from 2001 to 2007. In his first two seasons, he averaged 55 home runs and averaged 138 RBI. In 2003, Rodriguez won his first American League MVP.

Then the Rangers traded A-Rod to the Yankees, where he went on to win two more MVPs, including one in 2007 when he hit .314 and led the Major Leagues in home runs (54), RBI (156) and runs scored (143). No matter what the price (which has just gone up to $305 million, by the way), Rodriguez has performed even better than expected since becoming a member of the landed gentry.

He gets a A for performance under his $100 million deal.

Manny Ramirez (Boston Red Sox, 8 year/$160 million)

When the Red Sox offered Ramirez $20 million per season for eight years, many observers balked at the deal. Sure, the slugger had just come off a pair of back-to-back seasons where he averaged .342 with 41 home runs and 143 RBI. But Manny was a notorious headcase. A player who lived in his own world. The kind of guy who might not even be able to find fenway Park in eight years, let alone hit a meaningful homer out of the stadium. Yes, Manny's staying power and his dedication to the game were highly questionable back in 2001

But Manny proved them all wrong. Over the past seven years, only A-Rod and Albert Pujols can hold a candle to Manny. Look at the comparison:

• Manny: .313 BA, 36 HR, 115 RBI
• A-Rod: .304 BA, 41 HR, 130 RBI
• Pujols: .332 BA, 40 HR, 123 RBI

Most important of all has been Manny's postseason contributions. He was a major factor in both of the Red Sox recent World Series titles, winning the 2004 WS MVP, and hitting .348 with 4 homers and 16 RBI in 14 postseason games in 2007.

For his consistency, his loveable cluelessness and his clutch hitting, Manny also gets an A Grade for his performance under his mammoth contract.

Albert Pujols (St. Louis Cardinals, 7 years/$100 million)

At $14 million a year, Pujols is a bargain. Since signing the deal, Phat Albert won the MVP in 2005 (when he hit .330 with 41 HR and 117 RBI), finished second in 2006 (.332, 49 HR, 137 RBI) and had a solid season in 2007 (.327, 32 HR, 103 RBI) despite a series of nagging injuries that hampered his performance. For a guy who makes the same money as J.D. Drew, those are some very impressive statistics.

Derek Jeter (New York Yankees, 10 year-$189 million contract in 2001)

Since Jeter signed his deal with the Yankees, he's hit .314 and put up yearly average of 195 hits, 111 runs scored, and 22 stolen bases. He's also won 2 Silver Sluggers, 3 Gold Gloves and made five All-Star teams.

But one has to wonder if the Bombers weren't hoping that Jeter had given them just a little bit more in the power categories since he signed the mammoth deal. As great as Jeter has been, $19 million is a lot of money to shellout on a No.2 hitter whose top RBI season in the last seven years was 97 in 2006.

Regardless, it would be hard to argue that the deal has worked out for both Jeter and for the Yankees, even though it came at a pretty steep premium to extablish the face of the franchise.

Jeter gets a B

Todd Helton (Colorado Rockies, 9 Years-$141 million in 2003)

From his first full year in Colorado in 1998 through the end of the 2002 season, Todd Helton was among the top three or four hitters in the game. During that time he hit .334 and averaged 36 home runs and 123 RBI. So the Rockies signed him to a nine-year deal worth $141.1 million contract.

Since he signed the contract, Helton's power numbers have dropped. His home run average slipped from 36 a year to just 23 per season over the past five years. His annual RBI total has dropped even more drastically, from 123 to just 93.

But some things haven't changed. Helton can still hit for average. From 2003 through 2007, he hit .329, and had an On Base Percentage of .442. Helton has also averaged 45 doubles well over 100 runs scored a year. So while his big power numbers are down, it would he hard to complain that Helton hasn't performed well under his behemoth deal.

Grade: B

The Disappointing $100 Million Men

Kevin Brown (Los Angeles Dodgers, 7 years/$105 million)

After the 1998 season, Los Angeles signed Brown to the first player contract in professional team sports history that exceeded $100,000,000. Critics panned the signing, arguing that Brown, who was 34 at the time and had a history of injuries.

When Brown was healthy, he was very good. In 1999 (18-9, 3.00 ERA) and 2000 (13-6, 2.58 ERA) he was one of the three best pitchers in the National League. But 2001 and 2002 were injury-filled distasters for Brown, who was able to take the hill just 37 times in two seasons. He still gutted out a 13-8 record with an ERA of 3.20.

In 2003, Brown bounced back and had one of the great seasons of his career. Pitching for the NL's most piss-poor offensive team, Brown made 28 quality starts in 32 games. He had an ERA of 2.39 and struck out 185 batters in 211 innings. Because of lousy run support, however, Brown was just 14-9.

While injuries certainly submarined his final two years of the deal (when he pitched for the Yankees), it may be unfair to attack Brown. While healthy, he performed very, very well. Neverthless, as had been predicted, Brown's injuries and limited playing time can only earn him a Grade of C+.

Jason Giambi (New York Yankees, 7 years, $119 million)

Giambi has had some very good years as a Yankee. In 2002, he hit .314 with 41 home runs and 122 RBI, and finished fifth in MVP voting. He also had solid years in 2003, 2005 and 2006.

But his 2004 and 2007 seasons, both of which were marred by the steroid issue and a rash of injuries, were absolutely terrible. Giambi would probably get a C+ if he hadn't been such a distraction to the team during his bad years. But he was a huge distraction, and thus gets only a C-.

Ken Griffey, Jr. (Cincinnati Reds, 9 years/$116 million)

Injuries limited Griffey to an average of just 75 games between 2001 and 2004. Although he had good years in 2000 and 2005-07, his overall performance has been a huge disappointment to the Reds and to baseball in general. It's certainly not Griffey's fault. His injuries are a testament to the way he plays the game -- with a competitive fire that often borders on recklessness.

Griffey also get a C-

The Worst $100 Million Player

Mike Hampton (Colorado Rockies, 8-year, $121 Mllion in 2001)

After two big seasons in 1999 and 2000, in which he compiled a record of 37-12 for the Astros and Mets, Hampton signed the biggest pitching deal in history.

But in two years with the Rockies, Hampton was awful. He was 21-28 with an ERA of 5.80. The Rockies traded him to the Braves before the 2003 season. Mike's first two seasons in Atlanta were solid if unspectacular (14-8, 3.84 ERA in 2003, and 13-9, 4.28 ERA), but he blew out his elbow early in 2005. The injury required Tommy John surgery and has kept the lefty out of baseball for the past 2 1/2 years. Although Hampton has said that he will return for 2008, there is a chance that his playing days under the contract are over.

Overall Grade: D

Too Soon To Tell

Barry Zito (San Francisco Giants, 7 years/$136 million)

Alfonso Soriano (Chicago Cubs, 8 years/$136 million)

Vernon Wells (Toronto Blue Jays, 7 years $126 million)

Carlos Lee (Houston Astros, 6 years/$100 million)

All four of these players signed their $100 million deals before the 2007 season, so It's still too early to make a definitive judgment. But in their first seasons, Lee and Soriano did not disappoint. Zito and Wells were pretty awful, however.

Only time will tell if these new $100 million men will be and A-Rod or a Hampton.