Kiwoom Heroes hit the ‘jackpot’ with the posting fee of Lee Jung-hoo (25).
On July 15 (KST), it was reported that Lee Jung-hoo signed a six-year, $113 million (14.83 billion won) contract with the San Francisco Giants, putting a smile on the franchise’s face. Lee, who has completed seven years of first-team registration, attempted to enter the Major League Baseball (MLB) through the posting system (closed competitive bidding) rather than as a free agent (eight years of first-team registration). In the posting system, the acquiring team must pay the original team a posting fee, which is similar to a transfer fee.
The current posting fee is determined by the size of the contract, according to the Korea-U.S. Player Contract Agreement, which was revised in 2018. If the guaranteed amount offered by an MLB club to a player is $25 million (KRW 33 billion) or less, the posting fee is 20% of that amount. If the total guaranteed contract is between $25 million and $50 million ($3.3 billion to $6.6 billion), then 20% of $25 million ($5 million to $6.6 billion) plus 17.5% for amounts over $25 million.
If the total guaranteed amount exceeds $50 million (6.6 billion won), the posting amount will be calculated by adding 20% of $25 million ($5 million), 17.5% of $25 million to $50 million ($43.75 million to $5.8 billion), and 15% of the amount over $50 million. It’s important that the total amount exceeds $50 million in order for the club to receive the maximum transfer fee. At well over $100 million, Lee’s contract is nothing short of a “jackpot” for Kiwoom.
According to CBS Sports, the $113 million deal includes $18.72 million in posting fees. San Francisco has invested $131.72 million (17.29 billion won) in its new center fielder, including posting costs. Kim Ha-seong, who signed a $28 million (36.8 billion won) guaranteed contract with the San Diego Padres for the 2021 season, had a posting fee of $5.52 million ($7.3 billion). Lee Jung-hoo left Kiwoom for more than three times Kim’s transfer fee.
Without a parent organization, the Heroes have struggled to stay afloat each year. Starting in 2019, it sold naming rights to Kiwoom Securities for five years, receiving 10 billion won ($11 million) a year in return. In March, the team agreed to a five-year extension from 2024 to 2028 for a minimum of 55 billion won and a maximum of 69.5 billion won with incentives, but it was not enough to make ends meet compared to other clubs with strong parent companies. 월카지노
This season, Kiwoom’s roster salary totaled 6.4 billion won (excluding rookies and foreign players). This was a 19.1% increase from the previous year. Lee Jung-hoo’s posting fee was a huge breath of fresh air.