Details of Shohei Ohtani’s $700 million contract with the Dodgers rocked the MLB world on Monday, when it was reported that the 29-year-old would be deferring $680 million of the money until after the expiration of the deal in 2033.
Essentially, Ohtani will make an annual salary of just $2 million over the course of the 10-year contract, and will then collect $680 million over the next decade, which enables Los Angeles to continue spending during free agency.
The deferrals in Ohtani’s contract did not sit well with many fans of the sport, but perhaps none were more adamantly opposed to the deal than radio sportsperson Chris “Mad Dog” Russo.
During his Sirius XM radio show Monday, Russo lambasted MLB for allowing such contract gymnastics to take place.
Mad Dog Russo is in disbelief when he learns that the Dodgers deferred $680M of Shohei Ohtani's $700M contract.
— Funhouse (@BackAftaThis) December 12, 2023
The highlights...
• It is a disgrace.
• The sport is a joke.
• Rob Manfred should overrule it.
• Just give the Dodgers every superstar. pic.twitter.com/3LHKaCEMoe
“That is completely bogus. That’s circumventing the salary cap, is what that is,” Russo ranted. “The whole idea of the luxury tax is to prevent hoarding of major league players. This is an absolute disgrace. This is completely unfair to the ethics of the game. Baseball cannot allow this. You’ve got to look into this and change this.”
Russo said the Dodgers’ maneuvering of the financials on Ohtani’s contract was a prime reason he believes MLB needs to implement a salary cap.
“Why don’t we just give the Dodgers every player?” Russo asked. “Is this what baseball wants?”
Clearly, the Ohtani deal has Russo unsettled, and he ended his fiery rant by bashing baseball for becoming “a joke.”
