The Shohei Ohtani sweepstakes ended on December 9 when the two-time AL MVP Award winner announced his decision to sign with the Los Angeles Dodgers on Instagram. And while everyone expected a record-setting deal, hearing that it was a 10-year, $700 million agreement was eye-opening.
But that wasn't the last time we'd be shocked about this landmark contract. When news officially broke over the weekend, Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic and others mentioned it included "unprecedented" deferrals.
Just how unprecedented are those deferrals? As it turns out, Ohtani will earn nearly all of his $700 million outside of the 10 years he'll be playing for the Dodgers. Fabian Ardaya of The Athletic was the first to report that $680 million will be deferred.
So, Ohtani will earn just $2 million per year during the life of his contract. But from 2034-2043, Los Angeles will be paying Ohtani $68 million per year. And this was Ohtani's idea! This has already brought quite a few interesting stats and facts. The best of all, though? Retired MLB All-Stars Chris Davis ($9.1 million from the Baltimore Orioles) and Ken Griffey Jr. ($3.6 million from the Cincinnati Reds) will be making more in 2024 than Ohtani.
Ken Griffey Jr. ($3.6M) and Chris Davis ($9.1M) will make more in 2024 than Shohei Ohtani pic.twitter.com/RKvvOegt4x
— Baseball Quotes (@BaseballQuotes1) December 11, 2023
That's all made possible because of the deferred compensation they agreed to in their respective big-money deals. Why would Ohtani suggest such a thing to the teams vying for his services?
First and foremost, he's made it clear that winning consistently is the most important thing. Deferring this much money lowers the Dodgers' luxury tax hit, allowing them the flexibility to keep adding to the roster. It's already paying dividends because Tom Verducci of Sports Illustrated notes Los Angeles is currently in pursuit of Yoshinobu Yamamoto and Josh Hader for its pitching staff.
Plus, USA Today's Bob Nightengale noted that in reality, Ohtani doesn't need any of the money he's getting from the Dodgers. His various endorsement deals will net him about $50 million in 2024 alone.
Shohei Ohtani is expected to earn $50 million in endorsements, so with his salary from the Dodgers, $52 million will do.
— Bob Nightengale (@BNightengale) December 12, 2023
While Ohtani will be among the most inexpensive ballplayers over the next decade, he will surely be the highest-paid player in baseball for the decade that follows. Whether he's playing or not.
