Shohei Ohtani’s reign as the athlete with the richest contract in professional sports lasted only one year. After signing a 10-year, $700 million deal with the Los Angeles Dodgers in December 2023, Juan Soto and the New York Mets agreed to a 15-year, $765 million package approximately 365 days later.
Coming off the first season of 50 home runs and 50 stolen bases in Major League Baseball history, Ohtani being paid less than anyone seems baffling. He still has yet to pitch for the Dodgers, coming off 2023 elbow surgery. Yet Ohtani’s agent, Nez Balelo, told reporters on Thursday that he and his superstar client “wouldn’t do anything different.”
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The disparity between the contracts is even more stark when scrutinizing the details of the respective packages. None of Soto’s money will be deferred, meaning he’ll yield the full $765 million value. By contrast, Ohtani’s deal includes $680 million in deferred money, reducing the actual value of the agreement to $460 million.
Ohtani winning a World Series championship with the Dodgers last season and fitting in so comfortably with his teammates make up for whatever financial differences exist between his contract and Soto’s, according to Balelo.
“We wouldn’t do anything different,” Balelo said at Thursday’s Sportico’s Invest West conference, via the Los Angeles Times. “He won a championship. He went to the right team. Why would we do anything different? No regrets. Nothing.”
Additionally, Ohtani will earn more than $100 million in endorsements (and could get much more, if he so chose), further closing whatever gaps are apparent on paper.
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Balelo went on to explain that he and Ohtani felt the same way about the contract signed with the Los Angeles Angels upon leaving Japan. Ohtani likely could have gotten more money from other teams, but the Angels committed to allowing him to play as both a hitter and a pitcher. That put him in position to win two American League MVP awards and receive the contract he signed with the Dodgers, so they also have no regrets there.
“It was the right place, with the group and Mike [Scioscia] and the whole team over there,” Balelo added. “They gave him an opportunity. They stuck with him. He had a tough spring. It was the right home for him at the time.”
Free agent contracts in sports are often a matter of timing, rather than value. There are plenty of points to be made in comparison, such as Ohtani’s potential two-way contributions to the Dodgers and Soto being only 26 years old. But Soto hit the open market after Ohtani set the bar, so he ended up with the larger deal.
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This happens throughout professional sports. Is Dak Prescott a better quarterback than Patrick Mahomes? Most would say no, and Mahomes’ contract is worth much more in total value ($450 million to $240 million). But Prescott will make $60 million next season compared to Mahomes’ $52.1 million.
According to Balelo, the Dodgers presented a vision of building a winner around him and followed through on promises beyond his contract. The money saved from the deferrals in his contract was used to sign additional players including Yoshinobu Yamamoto and Tyler Glasnow that put them in better position to win a World Series.
Balelo also indicated that the contract Ohtani signed with the Dodgers might be his last one as a professional athlete. He’ll be 39 years old when the 10-year deal expires and apparently has no interest in playing until his skills and condition have completely eroded.
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“He just didn’t want to have the end of his storybook career tail off and then in Year 13, 14 and 15: ‘Who is this guy? He can’t even run down to first,'” Balelo said of Ohtani not pursuing a deal of 15 years or more.
Fortunately, there will likely be nine more years of Ohtani for baseball fans to enjoy.
