Shohei Ohtani signed a record-setting 10-year, $700 million contract with the Los Angeles Dodgers last offseason that included a staggering amount of deferred salary.
The superstar will earn a total of $20 million over the lifetime of the deal, with the remaining $680 million to be paid out from 2034-2043.
Ohtani agreed to the pay cut with a promise from the Dodgers ownership that they will use the savings to continue adding elite talent to the roster.
L.A. kept their side of the agreement by adding Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Teoscar Hernández, Tyler Glasnow, and at the trade deadline, Jack Flaherty. All of whom were instrumental to the team winning the 2024 World Series.
Ohtani praised Dodgers ownership and the front office for their continued efforts of improving the roster, via Bob Nightengale of USA Today:
“It definitely was rewarding,” Ohtani said. “You know, Mark, Andrew, the owners, we all made a promise to each other that we would go out and create the best team to put out on the field. And we were able to win the World Series, so in that sense we were able to keep our promise towards each other.
“I know they’re renovating the field [$100 million on clubhouses] right now, putting in even more resources to sign possibly other players, so it was refreshing and rewarding to know that we all did our part to help the Dodgers win the World Series.”
After winning the World Series, the Dodgers are now focused on putting the best possible team on the field in 2025. They made an early splash by signing Blake Snell to a five-year $182 million contract.
The Dodgers were also among the finalists to sign Juan Soto and still remain interested in other star players, such as Teoscar Hernández, Tanner Scott and Roki Sasaki.
Aside from improving their roster, the Dodgers also want to improve the game day experience for fans and players as they are in the midst of renovating Dodger Stadium.
Mark Walter: Dodgers ‘owed’ Shohei Ohtani
Dodgers principal owner Mark Walter recently said that the team felt obligated to give Ohtani the best chance to win the World Series this year after making a significant financial sacrifice.
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