Japanese baseball star Shohei Ohtani has said he will defer £680 million of his record-breaking $700 million contract with the Los Angeles Dodgers to help the club add more players to their roster.
Ohtani hit the headlines with his mammoth $700 million deal to join the Dodgers on a 10-year contract earlier in the month after his deal with the Los Angeles Angels expired.
Now, according to multiple sources, Ohtani has agreed a deal to take home only – only – $2 million per year until 2034, when the Dodgers will then pay him $68 million per year until 2043.
However, Ohtani won’t be too out of pocket – he is thought to earn about £50 million yearly via endorsements and other activities.
The Dodgers deal made Ohtani – a two-time MVP – one of the highest-earning athletes in the world, on a par with or even exceeding the riches that global superstars such as soccer player Lionel Messi or basketball star LeBron James are paid.
Such a deferment of wages is allowed by the MLB as part of its Collective Bargaining Agreement, which was ratified in May after protracted talks between the MLB and the players’ association. It stipulated that there are no limits on what proportion of wages can be deferred. This means the Dodgers have greater flexibility in the short-term.
