Just when MLB fans didn’t think they could hate the Los Angeles Dodgers anymore, they went out and signed baseball’s most unique generational talent for a deal that apparently won’t cost them that much money at all over the next 10 years.
Shohei Ohtani’s move to the Los Angeles Dodgers by itself made a lot of baseball fans upset, but once the details of his 10-year, $700 million dollar contract came out, that enraged fans of America’s past time that much more. In case you missed the news, the talented star has decided to defer a majority of his contract until after his 10-year deal is up.
Simply put, Ohtani was supposed to be paid $70 million each year to play baseball, and he will now instead be paid $2 million a season, deferring the $68 million dollars to be paid at a later date, which will be yearly from 2034 to 2043.
WOW! Shohei Ohtani will be deferring $68M per year during his 10-year contract with the Dodgers, allowing the team to keep spending, per @FabianArdaya
He will get paid $68M per year from 2034-2043 🤯 pic.twitter.com/m7oi57qmqc
— FOX Sports: MLB (@MLBONFOX) December 11, 2023
Ohtani apparently chose to do this so that the Los Angeles Dodgers (who already have a team full of All-star caliber players) can go out and spend even more money to seemingly build one of the most impressive and hated super teams the sport of baseball has ever seen.
Still confused? Well lucky for you, someone put together an unbelievably well done edit of the movie The Wolf of Wall Street to help to better explain the situation that the Dodgers just got themselves in. And its not as much of a “situation” as it is “highway robbery.”
Check it out:
The Shohei Ohtani-Dodgers deal explained. 😂
Greatest edit ever? pic.twitter.com/kR922HkJi8
— Sportsbook Review (@SBRReview) December 12, 2023
Technically, having a player defer their contract is legal, it just sucks for the rest of major league baseball. There have been plenty of baseball players in the past that have chosen to defer their payouts, which is why you often hear about athletes still being paid by teams years after they last played for them (Ken Griffey Jr, Bobby Bonilla, Max Scherzer).
This time though, it seems like Ohtani’s move will hurt the parity of the MLB. That’s why a multitude of baseball fans have been rubbed the wrong way by the move, done by a team who already has a roster full of some of the league’s best players (Mookie Betts, Freddie Freeman, Will Smith).
However, the Dodgers do have a rich history of having the best team in baseball and failing to do anything with it in the postseason. Just this past year, they finished the regular season with 100 wins and 62 losses, then got swept by the Arizona Diamondbacks in the first round…
With Ohtani’s move to the Dodgers, it turns one of the most likable, bright stars into public enemy number one. That’s something that should have been really hard to do, but the Los Angeles Dodgers managed to do it, and officially became (if there was any doubt before) the most hated team in the MLB.
Just take a look at some of the commentary online about the whole thing:
Exclusive: Shohei Ohtani will be paid in lemon Starburst until 2033, when the Dodgers will owe him the GDP of Brazil.
— Denny Carter (@CDCarter13) December 11, 2023
*Star player defers his payouts so his team can spend more $$$*
Me: That’s a hero right there, wow. Putting the team before himself is so classy
*same exact scenario as above but the team is the Dodgers*
Me: I need to call my congressman about preventing this immediately
— Big Tucson Dad (@BigTucsonDad) December 12, 2023
I ain’t mad at the Dodgers at all, but I’m going to use every breath til my last to talk trash if they don’t win multiple WS over the next 10.
— Austin Riley’s Rakes™️ (@RileysRakes) December 11, 2023
when it’s 2034 society has collapsed the banking system no longer exists and shohei ohtani is trying to explain to people he’s owed $600 billion from the dodgers: pic.twitter.com/oT6bPYUU1k
— alex (@steven_lebron) December 11, 2023
Did not think that Ohtani could do anything to make me dislike him but apparently playing for the Dodgers for free for a decade will accomplish that
— el yeti guapo de los bravos (@JDunnah) December 12, 2023
RAYS: the secret is finding the best cheapest players and flipping them for the best cheapest players when they get expensive
BRAVES: the secret is early long-term extensions below market value
DODGERS: the secret is ~magical future money~ you fucking nerds
— Bill Hanstock (@sundownmotel) December 11, 2023
