The Los Angeles Dodgers stunned Major League Baseball when they signed Shohei Ohtani to a 10-year, $700 million contract in December 2023, which at the time represented the largest deal in professional sports history.
It is the most unique contract in MLB history as all but $20 million of the total value will be paid out from 2034-2043, giving the Dodgers massive payroll flexibility. The deal also benefits Ohtani as he gets long-term security and tax savings.
As a result, the two-way star only earns a $2 million salary each season. However, his total earnings was around $102 million in 2025 because of an array of endorsements with global companies.
According to Kurt Badenhausen of Sportico, Ohtani joined Tiger Woods, Roger Federer and Stephen Curry as the only athletes to make $100 million in endorsements in a single year:
Before Ohtani, endorsement earnings for MLB players peaked around $10 million for Derek Jeter and Ichiro Suzuki. Ohtani’s $100 million in estimated endorsement earnings is a threshold reached by only three athletes ever in Tiger Woods, Roger Federer and Stephen Curry, who each did it one time.
It is believed that Ohtani has at least 20 brand partners, including New Balance, Fanatics, Beats by Dre, Ito En and Panasonic.
The four-time MVP added a half-dozen companies to his endorsement portfolio in 2025 alone, including Epic Games, which saw him become the first active MLB player added to popular video game “Fortnite.”
Ohtani’s popularity was on full display when the Dodgers began the 2025 season in Japan as he was featured in a plethora of advertisements throughout the country.
Was Shohei Ohtani highest-paid MLB player in 2025?
Ohtani trailed only New York Mets star Juan Soto as the highest-paid MLB player in 2025. Soto earned an estimated $121.9 million last season, which includes a $75 million signing bonus as part of his 15-year, $765 million contract with the Mets.
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