Professional baseball team Hanwha Eagles has signed a non-FA multi-year contract with Roh Si-hwan. It is an unimaginably large 11-year, 30.7 billion won contract.
Hanwha said on the 23rd, "We have signed a non-FA multi-year contract with Roh Si-hwan for 11 seasons from the 12027 season through the 2037 season, including options, with an aggregate of 30.7 billion won. It is the longest and largest contract in KBO League history when combining FA contracts and non-FA multi-year contracts.
In addition, a clause was added to allow the player to advance to the major leagues through posting after the end of the 2026 season to provide motivation for the player. Overseas moves are limited to the major leagues, but the contract conditions were added with mutual agreement so that the player can remain a Hanwha Eagles franchise member even if he returns through posting.
Hanwha Director General Son Hyuk explained, "We respected the player's goal, but after considering various options to treat him as the team's franchise star, this contract was concluded," and said, "We expect Roh Si-hwan to become a hitter symbolizing the Hanwha Eagles following Jang Jong-hoon and Kim Tae-gyun."
Roh Si-hwan, who opened the era of 30 billion won that no one had expected, rose to first place in the all-time multi-year contract earnings ranking with a single contract. Before Roh Si-hwan's contract, Choi Jeong of the SSG Landers held the top spot in this category. Choi Jeong recorded 30.2 billion won with three FA contracts in 2015 (4 years, 8.6 billion won), 2019 (6 years, 10.6 billion won) and 2025 (4 years, 11.0 billion won).
The numbers bestowed on Roh Si-hwan are also a conviction that he can become a player who performs steadily like Choi Jeong. Choi Jeong, who joined SK Wyverns as the first-round pick in 2005, recorded through 2025 in 21 years: 2,388 games, 2,352 hits, 518 home runs, 1,624 RBIs, 1,515 runs and a .286 batting average, becoming the first in KBO League history to reach the 500-home run milestone and continuing to make new history.
In fact, Roh Si-hwan has followed in Choi Jeong's footsteps. Choi Jeong hit 100 home runs by his seventh professional season and has consistently recorded double-digit home runs for 20 consecutive seasons after hitting one home run in his debut season. Roh Si-hwan has recorded 124 home runs, including the 31 he hit to win the home run title in 2023.
After the contract was announced, Roh Si-hwan said, "Senior Choi Jeong has been a player I really admired since I was young. I was so moved that the club offered an amount exceeding that."
He said, "Director General Son Hyuk told me to consistently hit 30 home runs for 11 years. I will have to aim for 30 home runs each year from now on. I want to be a hitter who can consistently hit 30 home runs without injuries," and added, "I want to start and finish with Hanwha. I have never thought about leaving the team, so I don't even want to imagine it."
Meanwhile, Roh Si-hwan, who is training as a member of the WBC (World Baseball Classic) national team, celebrated the contract on the 23rd by hitting a two-run homer over the left-field fence off Hanwha's Owen White in a practice game at Kadena Baseball Stadium in Okinawa, Japan.<
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