In perhaps the biggest transactional news in modern baseball history, former Los Angeles Angels superstar Shohei Ohtani is actually going to be based in LA going forward after signing with the Dodgers on Saturday.
Class act that Ohtani is, he’s deferring a lot of his money — whatever that means exactly, I’m sure I don’t know — but the bottom line is, the man is about to make SEVEN-HUNDRED MILLION DOLLARS over the span of 10 seasons.
Shohei Ohtani's contract has significant deferrals that include most of his salary — an idea, a source said, that was Ohtani's. In deferring the money, it reduces the cost of the competitive-balance-tax hit and will allow the Dodgers to build a better team around him.
— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) December 9, 2023
Joining the Dodgers was kind of a no-brainer for Ohtani. At the very least, he’s not playing for The Angels Angels of Anaheim anymore and toiling away in obscurity alongside Mike Trout. What a colossal failure the Angels organization is. Somebody ring up Theo Epstein to turn that mother around. PS: I’m just poking a little fun at the Anaheim vs. LA thing. They’re like 26 miles apart. Not a big deal. OK moving on.
I’m sure fans of any other team who felt they had a realistic shot are bummed Ohtani won’t be rocking their uniform. Not gonna lie, having Ohtani in the greater New York City area for the Mets or Yankees would’ve been a dream scenario. However, it’s hard to turn down this kind of money, not to mention, the Dodgers have three 100-win seasons in the past four years. The exception? A COVID-shortened 2020 campaign when they won the freaking World Series.
Funnily enough, amid all the speculation around Ohtani’s future and the MLB insiders who were angling for the official scoop, it was the pitching-hitting dual-threat stud himself who broke the news via the GRAM:
…But like, hold on a second. Forget the on-field implications of Ohtani’s arrival. Disregard the fact that he can’t pitch until 2025 due to injury. We’re all reading that contract correctly, right?
$700 million. That’s a full nine-a** figures more than the $600 million earnings potential Jon Rahm has with LIV Golf. From what I understand, Rahm has to at least earn that by pledging his undying fealty (IYKYK) to LIV for the remainder of his career. Who knows what pro golf will look like in a matter of weeks, never mind years? OK not to get too far afield.
I’ll be your sort of de facto Twitter factotum and document just how absurd the money is that Ohtani is about to make. How about what it’d mean to pay an NFL quarterback a corresponding/proportionate amount?
Looked this up … the highest-paid MLB players are Max Scherzer and Justin Verlander at $43.33 million per. That means the top of the market in baseball just jumped 87% with Shohei Ohtani getting $70 million.
It'd be like someone paying a QB $102.9 million per this offseason.
— Albert Breer (@AlbertBreer) December 9, 2023
And that’s the mere tip of the iceberg, friends.
Ohtani’s $700 million deal with the Dodgers would be the largest contract in the history of major professional sports, surpassing Lionel Messi’s $674 million deal with FC Barelona in 2017. https://t.co/RFXb3ZxS8L
— Russell Dorsey (@Russ_Dorsey1) December 9, 2023
The Dodgers are spending $700 million on Ohtani. The U.S. population is 327 million. They could have given each American $1 million and still have money left over for Ohtani. I feel like a $1 million check would be life-changing for most people. Yet they're spending it on Ohtani https://t.co/JRlHT46R5b
— Warren Sharp (@SharpFootball) December 9, 2023
Shohei Ohtani's $700 million deal with the Dodgers is worth more than six different NHL franchises and 23 different MLS franchises. pic.twitter.com/bY7Rli9sJq
— Front Office Sports (@FOS) December 9, 2023
Shohei Ohtani overtakes Mike Trout's 12-year, $426.5M deal for the largest contract by total value in MLB history.
Ohtani's $70M AAV is by far the highest in MLB history. Last season, the Orioles ($60.9M) and Athletics ($56.9M) each had opening day payrolls below that mark. https://t.co/HOBNPQLwlE pic.twitter.com/8jhtThDJUe
— ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) December 9, 2023
I’ll never forget seeing Arod’s $252 million contract scrolling across the bottom line. Now we hit 700 million. Truly remarkable stuff
— KFC (@KFCBarstool) December 9, 2023
Shohei Ohtani will get paid $700 million
Rockies Owner Richard L. Monfort is worth $700 million pic.twitter.com/H4iOtgwA1k
— Baseball Doesn't Exist (@BaseballDoesnt) December 9, 2023
$700 Million: What the Dodgers just agreed to pay Shohei Ohtani.
$667 Million: Total Oakland A's Payroll, Last 10 Seasons
— Darren Rovell (@darrenrovell) December 9, 2023
To put in perspective how massive this $700 million contract is, remember Mark Walter and the Guggenheim group purchased the Dodgers and all the land around Dodger Stadium for $2 billion 11 years ago. Essentially Shohei’s deal is a third of what had been a record setting… https://t.co/CLAt3fWemi
— Ramona Shelburne (@ramonashelburne) December 9, 2023
At $700 million, Shohei Ohtani's total deal with the Dodgersis larger than the nominal GDP of 6 countries!
He will also be making more annually (before taxes, of course) than the entire nation of Tuvalu pic.twitter.com/DZwvs97Z8J
— Nick Kalinowski (@kalidrafts) December 9, 2023
Shohei Ohtani's 10-year, $700 million deal with the Dodgers is worth more than any NBA player has ever made on the court in their entire career. pic.twitter.com/9rGbvIlndi
— Front Office Sports (@FOS) December 9, 2023
Were I Ohtani, I’d perhaps consider going to a tax-free state, because Uncle Sam is about to take a big bite out of his annual salary. However, being part of a World Series contender, not having to move far if at all, and benefiting from the massive LA market should only help Ohtani in the grand scheme of things.
As for the $700 million price tag, I mean, I guess the MLB market dictates that’s what he’s worth. Remember, the Dodgers are essentially getting an ace pitcher and a top-10 hitter (arguably better than top-10 but at least that good, right?). The Evil Empire of the West is, for all intents and purposes, paying for two players in one with this unprecedented mega deal for Ohtani. So it’s more like two contracts worth $350 million apiece. That would still be among the richest deals of all-time. Just so happens that Ohtani can get it done on the mound and at the dish to such a mind-blowing level that he’s worth the both of those.
Congrats, Mr. Ohtani. Do cool things with all that dough!
