The biggest deal in Major League Baseball (MLB) history was booked, and the result is the biggest contract in sports, not just in MLB, but in the world. Shohei Ohtani has made professional sports history.
On Tuesday (July 10), American media announced that Ohtani had signed a 10-year, $700 million free agent contract with the Los Angeles Dodgers. Ohtani first announced his move to the Dodgers on social media, and it was later revealed to be the largest contract in history.
It’s worth nearly 1 trillion won in Korean won, or more than 100 billion yen at the current exchange rate. It’s a record-breaking deal that would require the combined salaries of five MLB teams.
Before Ohtani, the largest MLB contract was $427 million for Mike Trout and the Los Angeles Angels. Ohtani will make $273 million more than his former Angels teammate. It also surpasses the contracts of soccer stars in the biggest markets around the world.
The largest contract before Ohtani was Lionel Messi’s $674 million deal with Barcelona, according to CBS Sports. Messi was followed by Cristiano Ronaldo and Saudi soccer team Al Nasr for $537 million. The largest in U.S. professional sports is $450 million for American football’s Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs.
It’s a jaw-dropping number, but the math is likely to be surprisingly simple. The Dodgers valued Ohtani at about the same amount as the MLB’s highest contract for a hitter and highest contract for a pitcher combined. The outfielder’s $427 million contract plus the Yankees’ Gerrit Cole’s $324 million is $751 million. 토토사이트
Ohtani is a top-notch performer as both a hitter and pitcher. However, after undergoing elbow ligament reconstruction surgery this year, he will be limited to hitting in 2024. The price tag is $700 million, minus $51 million for a designated hitter in 2024.
But it’s not about the money, it’s about Ohtani’s choice. Ohtani had dreamed of joining the Dodgers since his youth. He looked up to Hideo Nomo, Japan’s first big leaguer, and envisioned himself playing on the world’s biggest stage in a Dodger uniform. The Dodgers have been preparing for this as well, reducing the team’s payroll over the past few years by avoiding big free agent signings as much as possible. It was reportedly down to the Dodgers and Toronto in the last nine days, and Ohtani made it clear that he chose the Dodgers.