When Shohei Ohtani announced that he would be signing a longterm deal with the Los Angeles Dodgers, only one figure stood out — and it was the $700 million the contract would pay Ohtani.
And while it initially appeared that Ohtani would be the highest-paid athlete in North American pro sports, the reality of the Dodgers deal is looking far different. In fact, a first-round pick in the NBA draft could be making more in 2024 than Ohtani.
According to ESPN’s Jeff Passan, Ohtani’s salary will be almost entirely deferred until after the 10 years with the Dodgers are done. Basically, Ohtani will make $2 million per season over the next 10 years, and when the contract ends, he’ll receive the remaining $680 million in deferred payments ($68 million per year for 10 years).
Shohei Ohtani's $700 million contract calls for him to be paid only $2 million a year for the next 10 seasons, with $680 million deferred until the end of the deal, sources confirm to ESPN.
The CBT hit on the contract is going to be around $46 million, a huge discount for L.A.
— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) December 11, 2023
The framework of that deal obviously help the Dodgers compete in the short term, but it also had to take Ohtani — a two-time MVP — being cool with $2 million per year until 2033. That’s something that nobody would have expected, and the deferred payments will actually put Bobby Bonilla Day to shame.
No wonder MLB fans were stunned. Austin Hedges, for example, is getting paid more than Ohtani next season. It’s all so wild.
This was how Twitter reacted
If I'm reading this correctly: Shohei Ohtani signed a 10-year, $20M contract and he will then make $68M every year from 2034-2043?
What in the world. https://t.co/TktvLzCHbE
— Ari Meirov (@MySportsUpdate) December 11, 2023
dodgers in 2034 when they have to pay ohtani 700 million dollars and cant field a ball club https://t.co/kaC5aaegE1 pic.twitter.com/H4FQGhSj42
— not ry (@HateTheBears) December 11, 2023
The other 29 teams should probably consider some sort of collective action against this. MLBPA should be involved too. Outrageous https://t.co/m3kWMqEbvL
— Evan Weston (@EvanLWeston) December 11, 2023
Me trying to make this make sense https://t.co/PJh7SPjtcr pic.twitter.com/k8iW0bEfiJ
— Tom Hardon (@tbhardon90) December 11, 2023
Shohei Ohtani really told the Dodgers, "Just pay me what the 30th pick in the NBA Draft gets every year for the next 10 years and then I'll grab the other $680 million from you when we're done." https://t.co/tGHBR5087m
— Gary Parrish (@GaryParrishCBS) December 11, 2023
Shohei: “Double it and give it to the next guy.”
Shohei, ten years later at the back of the line: https://t.co/Z71jScOZQB pic.twitter.com/R3EU0Hv0Xm
— T.J. Zuppe (@TJZuppe) December 11, 2023
Shohei Ohtani went to the Bobby Bonilla School of Securing Your Financial Future. https://t.co/InpBg1DgKs pic.twitter.com/eOInb7MMdb
— Kevin D. Grüssing (Pronounced Grew-sing) (@KevDGrussing) December 11, 2023
yeah this is the type of stuff that needs to be changed in the CBA. outrageous https://t.co/0NVyq33njc
— Jordan Go-Kart⚜️ (@J_Kartch) December 11, 2023
I’m calling it now: Ohtani at $2M per season is the best value in baseball https://t.co/FpLVLSVqCq
— nugget chef (@jayhaykid) December 11, 2023
Dodgers are running a pyramid scheme. https://t.co/BGFIdmeEv9 pic.twitter.com/gdOH1FeGY7
— Vernon Dozier 🍥 (@VernonDozier_15) December 11, 2023
They gotta just make the CBT hit the AAV of the contract https://t.co/oEliEcki98
— Foolish Baseball (@FoolishBB) December 11, 2023
Bobby Bonilla walked so Shohei could run faster than the speed of light https://t.co/nYfgrUqOla
— Field Yates (@FieldYates) December 11, 2023
