The Shohei Ohtani sweepstakes came to an end Saturday when the two-way phenom announced on his Instagram that he was signing with the Los Angeles Dodgers. The deal is for 10 years and an eye-popping $700 million.
Ohtani won’t pitch in 2024 after undergoing elbow surgery, but is expected to be back on the mound in 2025. The 29-year-old will continue to hit.
The Dodgers, who already boast star power in Mookie Betts and Freddie Freeman, added a two-way talent in Ohtani that makes an already-strong team even stronger.
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Now that it’s not a secret anymore where Ohtani will be playing next year and beyond, here’s what those around MLB are saying about the deal.
“He now owns the richest deal in sports, even if the massive deferrals reduce the present-day value of his contract. He will be playing for the game’s most successful regular-season franchise over the past decade, but one that has not won a World Series in a full season since 1988. All eyes will be on him, even those of casual fans.”
“As for free-agent deals, it’s the largest by dollar amount in MLB history by $340 million, surpassing Aaron Judge’s nine-year, $360 million contract inked ahead of the 2023 season. It shatters the record for average annual value for an MLB contract, previously set by Max Scherzer at $43.3 million with the Mets ahead of the 2022 season, then tied by Justin Verlander with the Mets a year later.”
“Ultimately, I’m not surprised. “And even the number — and I know the number is a staggering one. But the word is that the majority of this contract is deferred, and it was Ohtani’s thought to do that to create cash flow for the Dodgers. … Deferrals will drop the $70 million average quite a bit. I would suspect maybe somewhere down in the 50s some place. But this is something the Dodgers have done a lot.”
“Word from one of the Ohtani finalists: ‘We certainly were not at 699.′”
“The Golden Knights expansion fee was $500 million. $200 million less than Shohei Ohtani.”
“It’ll pay for itself within six or seven years. He’s literally just a money factory. Even just on advertising alone. All the eyeballs from Japan. He’s like Michael Jordan to them. He’s like Taylor Swift.”
“Shohei Ohtani: $700M The entire first day of NHL free agency in 2023 (per @CapFriendly): $646M.”
“Joe Kelly said he hasn’t formally been asked by the Dodgers or Ohtani for No. 17, but assumes he will be giving it to his new teammate.”
