Ohtani gets 700M

[HuskyHawk]

When you're the Dodgers and you're going to have a $300-350M payroll, yes absolutely

Sure they will win. Until they run into a hot Braves, Brewers, Cardinals or whatever team in the playoffs. Baseball is just way too random. When great is succeeding 1/3 of the time it not like other sports. The best way to win a WS is to get in the playoffs every year and hope you get lucky with injuries and a hot pitcher or hitters at the right time. Great players can’t get you there or the Angels, with two of the top players, would have made it. Dodgers are stacked, so sure, a playoff team. Beyond that?

 

[Huskyforlife]

When you're the Dodgers and you're going to have a $300-350M payroll, yes absolutely

Correct me if I’m wrong, but don’t these type of mega contracts always end up not being worth it? I’m just thinking about Stanton as a Yankees fan.

 

[navery12]

Correct me if I’m wrong, but don’t these type of mega contracts always end up not being worth it? I’m just thinking about Stanton as a Yankees fan.

I mean it really depends. 2 years ago the biggest FA contracts handed out were Corey Seager and Marcus Semien to the Rangers, and they won a World Series this year. So for the Rangers I'd say those deals absolutely worked out

 

[Huskyforlife]

I mean it really depends. 2 years ago the biggest FA contracts handed out were Corey Seager and Marcus Semien to the Rangers, and they won a World Series this year. So for the Rangers I'd say those deals absolutely worked out

I know I could look it up, but were those contracts in the historical territory?

 

[navery12]

I know I could look it up, but were those contracts in the historical territory?

Not historical, but Seager got $325M for 10 years which was pretty large at the time and I believe is still top 10 for largest contracts of all time

 

[Scoe]

Correct me if I’m wrong, but don’t these type of mega contracts always end up not being worth it? I’m just thinking about Stanton as a Yankees fan.

It’s worth it to their franchise, they are going to rake in billions in revenue, and the world wide television ratings are gonna go through the roof, especially in Japan. Sure you can laugh at the Dodgers whenever they fall short in the playoffs but you can’t say their front office hasn’t done everything in their power to put a winning product on the field.

 

[EnochRoot]

Correct me if I’m wrong, but don’t these type of mega contracts always end up not being worth it? I’m just thinking about Stanton as a Yankees fan.

For starters, the Dodgers might even triple their investment in Ohtani due to the fact he’s an international superstar. Adley Rutschman or any other American-born ballplayer simple do not have that level of cachet. And by triple their investment, I’m saying they wouldn’t have made the $ that he brings in himself. So on that side of things, yeah, it will be worth it.

Will they win? I’d say probably, yes they will.

 

[Gordo]

Listen, there are always loop holes in every contract, so I wouldn't be too concerned about the 700M. Some team was going to pay this amount for his services, so why not the Dodgers. Keeping him in LA was very important to the community as a whole. If he can produce as expected at the plate, he'll probably be worth it. If he can pitch again after next year, that will be frosting on the cake. But there are always what ifs in contracts and the LA fans will be paying the tariff anyway. Ticket prices are going up!

 

[Cheddie]

I guess they see the total cost of value greater than just His production on field. However, I do agree in the craziness of all that money tied into one asset/player.

Here is an article from July that speculated/predicted the $700 mm contract:

https://www.si.com/mlb/angels/news/shohei-ohtani-news-business-writer-calculates-700-million-worth-for-angels-superstars-next-contract-mw1996

Read that there is deferred compensation so LA will still have the resources to build a strong contender. Bobby Bonilla is still getting paid until 2035. Ohtani's grandkids might get checks.

 

[WhereistheDove?]

Some articles quoting other executives seem to say it doesn’t really matter. He will still make the team more money than he costs if he only plays well for 5/6 years and even if he only pitches a few. That’s how popular he is in Japan and the West Coast.

My concern would be less on the pure dollars and cents (agreed, the amount they’ll make from Japanese broadcast rights and other Japanese market revenue will be significant), it’s about resource allocation. MLB doesn’t have a salary cap but unless the dodgers got very aggressive with deferrals, this is going to eat up a huge chunk of their payroll space in relation to the luxury tax. I fear he won’t even play half of this as a top level pitcher based on his injury history. And while he’s a phenomenal DH, $70M a year for an elite DH is going to be an issue when it comes to fielding a competitive team if that’s all he can do in the out years.

 

[bfs3]

My concern would be less on the pure dollars and cents (agreed, the amount they’ll make from Japanese broadcast rights and other Japanese market revenue will be significant), it’s about resource allocation. MLB doesn’t have a salary cap but unless the dodgers got very aggressive with deferrals, this is going to eat up a huge chunk of their payroll space in relation to the luxury tax. I fear he won’t even play half of this as a top level pitcher based on his injury history. And while he’s a phenomenal DH, $70M a year for an elite DH is going to be an issue when it comes to fielding a competitive team if that’s all he can do in the out years.

That’s an understandable argument. He does throw 100 mph and pretty much every all star pitcher in baseball has had Tommy John surgery atleast once. He’s also known for an Ichiro level of preparation. If he pitches for half that contract 100 innings a year I still think it’s worth it. I’m sure they’ll cover his contract and probably by multitudes with a World Series win. They don’t need him to pitch until the playoffs anyways with 6/7 starting caliber young pitchers already. Their existing contracts and prospects will keep their team competitive for the 7 years of his contract even if they don’t add any more major players. They really don’t need him to pitch at all with the number of top pitchers in their system. I don’t think this makes sense for a lot of teams but the Dodgers would need to have several career ending injuries to not field a playoff team over the next 7 years. It seems every all star is demanding a 300 million dollar contract or more. I’m sure in 6/7 years there will be other teams with comparable payrolls.

 

[WestCoastHusky]

For people that are questioning the value of the contract, you are not seeing the big picture.

Perhaps the article below will share some light on why Ohtani is so valuable. As we all know, SF Giants tried desperately to get in on the Ohtani sweepstake but only to see him landing with the Dodgers. The entire Bay Area is still mourning today. If the Giants cant land Yamamoto to appease the fanbase after losing out other superstars in the recent years, I am not sure what will happen here.

The bottom line is Ohtani has 337 millions dollars impact on both USA and Japanese economies just in 2022. That is insane, and it will make that $70M per year investment seems like a bargain. There aren't many players that can affect countries and national GDPs like this.

Shotime in San Francisco? How Ohtani would impact Giants off the field

The Giants signing Shohei Ohtani can have a positive off-the-field ripple effect for the organization, the city of San Francisco and the Bay Area.

www.nbcsportsbayarea.com

 

[WestCoastHusky]

 

[WestCoastHusky]

 

[superjohn]

I guess this makes sense for the Dodgers who are feeling pressure to win now but the jokes are going to be great when Ohtani is going to be collecting those $68 million checks 8-10 years after retirement.

 

[bfs3]

I guess this makes sense for the Dodgers who are feeling pressure to win now but the jokes are going to be great when Ohtani is going to be collecting those $68 million checks 8-10 years after retirement.

It’ll probably be a different ownership group paying those checks anyways. I’m sure it’ll be taken into account when they pay 5 billion for the team. Plus a generation of Dodgers fans in Japan will probably keep buying merch long after he retires.

 

[superjohn]

It’ll probably be a different ownership group paying those checks anyways. I’m sure it’ll be taken into account when they pay 5 billion for the team. Plus a generation of Dodgers fans in Japan will probably keep buying merch long after he retires.

It shouldn't be allowed. MLB needs to step in and fix this.

 

[Deepster]

The amount of contracts like this that don’t work out are far, far more than them resulting in rings. The Dodgers didn’t sign him to win. They signed him to make money internationally off him for his entire prime. The merch and TV deal alone probably covers half of it.

 

[superjohn]

The amount of contracts like this that don’t work out are far, far more than them resulting in rings. The Dodgers didn’t sign him to win. They signed him to make money internationally off him for his entire prime. The merch and TV deal alone probably covers half of it.

There's never been a contract like this. This contract makes a mockery of the sport and is anti-competitive. Ohtani doesn't care about the contract money up front because he makes so much money on endorsements so the Dodgers basically get him for free for his playing career and will be able to buy an all-star team to put around him. It's shocking this is allowed. The other owners must be fuming, I wonder if MLB steps in and all the lawyers get involved.

 

[Mots010]

My head is spinning thinking of the compounding interest Ohtani is leaving off the table by deferring for 10 years. I bet it’s well into 9 figures even using conservative ROR. The dodgers can probably fund a huge portion of the back end with that interest alone.

 

[WestCoastHusky]

The amount of contracts like this that don’t work out are far, far more than them resulting in rings. The Dodgers didn’t sign him to win. They signed him to make money internationally off him for his entire prime. The merch and TV deal alone probably covers half of it.

I am pretty damn sure one of the most important conditions Ohtani signed with the Dodgers is the fact they win. They been in the post season last 11 years, so there is no doubt they will continue that trend with 3 MVPS in hitting order 1-3. By adding Ohtani the ace, they also upgraded pitching even though he can't pitch until 2025. If they land Yamamoto, which they can with this deal, Dodgers are looking pretty solid for years to come.

The only reason Ohtani can do this is because he will earn $50M+ this year just in endorsements. The next highest MLB player (Trout, Harper) earns about $5M to $6M per year. Ohtani by himself is an international brand that few can match in the entire world.

 

[Deepster]

There's never been a contract like this. This contract makes a mockery of the sport and is anti-competitive. Ohtani doesn't care about the contract money up front because he makes so much money on endorsements so the Dodgers basically get him for free for his playing career and will be able to buy an all-star team to put around him. It's shocking this is allowed. The other owners must be fuming, I wonder if MLB steps in and all the lawyers get involved.

There are always contracts like this. Same outrage and questions when Pujols signed a 10 yr 250m contract with the Angels.

 

[superjohn]

There are always contracts like this. Same outrage and questions when Pujols signed a 10 yr 250m contract with the Angels.

Pujols got the money when we was a player.

 

[HuskyHawk]

There's never been a contract like this. This contract makes a mockery of the sport and is anti-competitive. Ohtani doesn't care about the contract money up front because he makes so much money on endorsements so the Dodgers basically get him for free for his playing career and will be able to buy an all-star team to put around him. It's shocking this is allowed. The other owners must be fuming, I wonder if MLB steps in and all the lawyers get involved.

It’s smart for the player. He will not be in CA, paying those taxes when he collects most of it. The club can look at the inflation adjusted payout and realize it’s much lower than what it would be in current values.

MLB needs a hard cap or at least something that works similarly. That said, this is the type of contract more players should probably seek.

 

[Mots010]

It’s smart for the player. He will not be in CA, paying those taxes when he collects most of it.

if you have a choice of taking money now, or taking it in 10 years, the correct answer is always now. That kind of money invested, compounded over 10 years is an incredible amount to leave on the table.