Justin Verlander is donating his MLB paychecks to coronavirus fight

MLB star Justin Verlander and his wife Kate Upton announced Saturday they will be donating his baseball salary to organizations helping fight against the pandemic in the United States.

The couple made the announcement on Verlander's Instagram account on Saturday afternoon. Verlander, a pitcher for the Houston Astros, said the league will continue to pay its players during the ongoing shutdown of the baseball season. 

"Obviously this is an extremely difficult time for the entire world. There are so many people that are in need, whether it's those that are on the frontlines battling this disease head-on, or someone who's at home and has lost their job and needs to provide basic necessities such as food or water. So we have decided to donate that paycheck," Verlander said. 

Upton said the couple would "pick an organization every week" and "donate the entire week's paycheck to that organization." They will also be touting the work of each organization to which they donate, she said. 

Under his current contract with the Astros, Verlander makes $33,000,000 per year, which averages out to nearly $635,000 per weekly paycheck.