Shohei Ohtani's Contract Should Be Illegal

[@iTalkStudios]

What do you think?

[@ricksamericana749]

Big market teams have always had the advantage in signing and keeping star players. If this is such a big advantage why haven't the big market teams dominated lately?

[@stephencaudle1766]

I think deffered money should be added into the year's salary for the year that it is deferred to.

[@Bronte6497]

They have to keep $44m/year in escrow so it’s not like they’re magically wiping 68 off the books to spend on other players every year for 10 years

[@nexuseagles6279]

The dodgers should get the LA Lakers treatment. In 2011 the NBA vetoed the Lakers - hornet trade because they didn't want the Lakers to break the league. It would have allowed the Lakers to have Kobe, Paul and gasol in prime. MLB should start vetoing the Dodgers.

[@roberttada1240]

Legal but unethical

[@xMuRDoCx]

This will not be a common contract. Ohtani makes so much off sponsors. He is able to defer all the money. No other MLB player comes close.

[@bd1zzle]

if i was hindu be 2354635362512354364753156 lifetimes to make that money.

[@gDiniM]

Yeah because a 2 million dollar salary is unlivable 😭 that stupid ass take is why so many athletes go broke. Ohtani just signed a ridiculous deal that should be illegal but is the smartest contract ever signed by an atglete from a business perspective.

[@everythinglakers1713]

@@gDiniM and Ohtani literally makes $50 mil plus off sponsors already and that number will prob double now with him on the Dodgers

[@gDiniM]

@@everythinglakers1713YUP! I have no idea why so many people see this as selfless and non-greedy. The guy did what he had to do in order to nearly DOUBLE the previous record setting contract instead of just simply taking less... So selfless lmao by all means take the money but these comments are wild.

[@johnsepulvedacruz6428]

The closest is Judge with 4.5 Million it's not even close 😂

[@zellazoom6238]

Ohtani asked if he could defer 100% hahaha this guy is insane.

[@XBarajasX]

I think he just wanted to stay comfortable in SoCal and win games (not WS), the rest is irrelevant. Would have done it for free

[@inviz1440]

@@XBarajasX That's the Japanese culture for you hehe

[@TCUsouthpaw]

I would too if I would have to be paying cali taxes on all that money. He will save ~80 million in taxes by differing his payment until after his 10 years are up.

[@jsilva7005]

How does this not break MLB cap rules?

[@andrewmacdaniels212]

He said the reason he accepted the deferred contract is because he makes 50 million a year off the field, he doesn't need the money right away. It's a retirement plan, and he doesn't have to pay state taxes on a deferred contract. So it's tax free money. His agent pretty much decided all of this, and advised Ohtani on the contract, and he signed off on it. He gets over 650 million after 10 years, mostly tax free.

[@homerj.simpson7562]

Dumb question, but will that money count towards their payroll once Shohei's contract is over?

[@omariparker3769]

@@homerj.simpson7562 No. Only $46mil counts toward payroll each year over the 10 years. None of the deferred money will count.

[@itsmealex8959]

​@TheDeepShallow If he isn't a California resident then the state won't be able to touch it.

[@berto8232]

@@homerj.simpson7562My understanding is no.

[@omalleycaboose5937]

He didn't accept the differed contract, he requested it, it was an idea from his end

[@beerussama7093]

I heard Oakland offered Ohtani $1 per year for 700 million years.

[@JBStreeter]

L O L

[@KingdomOfZeal]

🤣😂😂🤣😂

[@justinllamas1]

u also forgot to mention … the bigger issue is that LA, NYY and NYM are required to pay luxury tax to the league bc they wanted to invest money in order to win, who then distribute this money to ‘poor’ teams whose owners are too cheap to spend. will baltimore, cincinnati, pittsburgh and oakland re-invest the extra money they received from these large market teams ? no, they just pocket it.

[@J_R15]

This guy whines about everything

[@ronnieortiz6803]

​@@J_R15he's trying to increase his subscriber count 😂

[@bobdingle2539]

Even more reason to implement more regulation. Not only does the league need a salary cap. They also need a salary floor.

[@bikinisforever4163]

The owners too cheap, or the players too expensive? $20 million to an athlete who contributes nothing to society is insane.

[@jimandersen3003]

Check the facts. Almost one third is exempt from the current luxury tax. Also, another super rich person in the US not paying income tax. Yep, that's fair in fantasyland.

[@BeefPapa]

The teams that can't defer 680 mill are the same teams that can't pay 460 mill for 10 years. There's nothing to gripe about really.

[@golfrelax9795]

You know what's funny? It's not illegal and will never be illegal because you CAN'T find players who is willing to deferred 90+% their salary

[@inathoiehohs8551]

Yeah 97% in Shohei's case.

[@justinllamas1]

ok I gotta disagree with u and I am not just saying this being from LA and supporting them. LA did everything legal according to the CBA that the players and the owners AGREED upon. players are allowed to defer payment as long as they make the league minimum the entire way. in fact shohei ohtani told every team he negotiated with in free agency based on the reports that he wanted to defer payment and structure his future contract this way. also LA are still taking a big 46M hit every year for luxury tax purposes. that’s the biggest luxury tax hit surpassing verlander and scherzer at 43.3M. also talking about scherzer, he and boras agreed to defer half of his contract when he signed with washington back in 2015. that allowed washington to add pieces that helped them win a title in 2019.

[@ronmexico7256]

That’s why he said “should”. Obviously everything here is completely legal and within the rules, the issue is the rules themselves not Ohtani. There’s definitely going to be a huge push to amend the rules in the next CBA.

[@justinllamas1]

@@ronmexico7256why ? LA, NYY and NYM investing into their teams ain’t a problem. the biggest problem is these teams are being punished for spending money by being forced to pay luxury tax to the league, and then this money is distributed to ‘poor’ teams with cheap owners like cincinnati, pittsburgh, baltimore and oakland. this money in theory is for them to re-invest in their teams yet they pocket the extra money.

[@sir.muffiniii7011]

@@justinllamas1because then it fucks over everyone else, the league beers a salary cap and a salary floor

[@steviejohnson378]

No one expected someone like Shohei would exploit the system like this

[@kennyhi4724]

i agree with you. Well explain

[@ftw4twcs]

Giants fan here. Nothing wrong with the deal. Dodgers always a step ahead of the division.

[@sir.muffiniii7011]

Cuz they have more money than everyone else in the division combined

[@bd1zzle]

that cartel money 😉

[@Gankhisprawn]

As a Dodgers fan, its great for us, but I hope the Giants continue to improve because we need that push and that rivalry through the year. Of course, don't improve too much as you don't need another WS anytime soon ;)

[@richardfloss832]

As a baseball fan plenty wrong here. LA always favored ahead of the division.

[@Mittens5044]

You guys got a good pickup from Korea.

[@nonenone7761]

Ohtani has shown us he’s the best player, maybe ever. But, what we did not know was that not only is he the best player, it appears he’s also the best General Manager, too.

[@douglascarter2078]

.190 Batting Average in 2020. 😂 The best ever my ass.

[@SoloKatOnly]

@@douglascarter2078 you are one

[@douglascarter2078]

@@SoloKatOnly You don't even make sense with your pathetic attempts to trash talk. Go back to kindergarten. I play rough.

[@DonkeyPuncher1976]

How is this illegal? It’s not against the rules and tons of players have Don this including Max Scherzer, who took 50% of his salary deferred

[@lionelruiz3247]

He's not saying it's illegal, but that it should be. Yes people have done this in the past, but for this amount of money? For this caliber player? On a roster that's already a super team? Never been done. It's bullshit that they're circumventing a system that was put in place to make the game competitive and it won't even really hurt them that bad financially when it's all said and done. Not fair.

[@DonkeyPuncher1976]

@@lionelruiz3247 understand. I am saying it’s something that has happened in the past. If this is illegal then so are so many more contracts over the past 30 years

[@matthewsimonds3346]

But how can you say Ohtani is worth $2 million a year rn? That’s literally a joke

[@lionelruiz3247]

@@DonkeyPuncher1976 I understand as well, no ones debating the legality of this, just stating that it should be against the rules. It's absolutely insane to think that they're essentially getting him for free right now and will accrue enough money over the next 10 years that it won't even really affect them financially. I don't care what money gets kicked back to the smaller market teams because they're just gonna pocket it anyways. It's BS all around

[@DonkeyPuncher1976]

@@matthewsimonds3346 This was Ohtahni’s idea signing this contract. He is making sure to get under the luxury tax to not pay other teams more money. Also, this deal helps the Dodgers get more players and doesn’t hinder them well paying him 70 million a year right now. He is getting 2 million year but for a 10 year span next decade he’s going to be getting 68 million a year. This happens all the time in baseball. This time a player just agreed to defer most of his salary which most players now wouldn’t do.

[@rpsnider85]

It was Shoheis idea, he should be allowed to make that deal if he WANTS that deal. I dont think a TEAM should be allowed to DEMAND deferment, it should have to be proposed/accepted by the player. That said, there are only a handful of players who are even worthy of a deferment, Ohtani is one obviously. Trout is another. But I see nothing wrong with a player wanting to help the team he's on bring in more talent so they can win. Ohtani has paid his dues, he played for a horrendous franchise and played like no one on Earth has ever seen before. Trying to tell him what he can and can't do to help himself and his team financially is ridiculous and sour grapes to the max...particularly since it's not illegal in terms of the law. Its no one's business. Why don't we just praise Ohtani for doing what he thinks is best, and IS the best for his team...regardless that most of us don't like the Dodgers. Dude played it insanely smart and is worth every penny...and the insane part is even without the deferment...its still a FANTASTIC deal for the Dodgers...almost a steal because over the next 10 years he's going to bring them BILLIONS in revenue just being on their team.

[@sb17146]

If teams demanded deferrments nobody will play for them. Dodgers are lucky because they have a generational talent who's more about winning than money.

[@itsmealex8959]

I dont really think this should be illegal. Its awesome for the players and I really have no issue with players taking pay cuts or structuring contracts to help their team win.

[@bd1zzle]

hence being stingy with "your" money. he's shown he can almost literally carry a team, Angels, from 3rd to playoffs wildcard spot before all-star break last season then get injured and see the angels crash

[@kennyhi4724]

agree

[@gDiniM]

​@@bd1zzleno player can carry a team in baseball. Ohtani included lmao.

[@Godishim1]

⁠@@bd1zzle the angels started playing pretty poorly after the break even with him healthy. Saying they were gonna make the playoffs if he were healthy is crazy and carrying a team in baseball is pretty much impossible

[@bd1zzle]

@@Godishim1 Thats what i mean. trout came back from broken wrist or hand after gone for 6months was it then same game gets injured again. no one really a stud player other than trout and ohtani then cj cron came back so he at least knows the basics of how the angels like to play and i think hes a decent 1st baseman but then angels had no one in the infield that was consistently on base it was always trout or almost all of season 6 of ohtani's contract where he was the one batting everyone possible in and pushing for scoring position constantly just to end up staying at 2nd seeeing the 3rd out a lazy pop up for the out or strike out and just standing on 2nd pissed.. you can see real quickly how his joyful emotions changed to anger and frustrations during year 5 and 6. where he was really trying to push the angels to the playoffs and they just had too many injured non stars and constantly kept trading around players. sucks for as much as i hate that crip blue in LA so we will see how his return to Anaheim will be in the first freeway season series

[@harrysmith2431]

I'm a Yankees' fan & don't see a problem with it. If they can do it, good for them.

[@civil_leuthie]

Any team could have done this. Teams have done it on a smaller scale in the past. Every player should structure their contracts in a similar way. $2 million per year is enough for anyone to live in crazy luxury. It's crazy that we think it would be difficult for a player to live on so little money.

[@DW-op7ly]

I read Ohtani gives all his money to his mother to manage and she gives him 2,000 a month to spend Apparently it comes from the parents they won’t accept any of his money even to repair a roof

[@richardfloss832]

Still unfair that they sign the best player and still have room to sign more. Having the best should not come this risk free.

[@kennethmccullough1342]

It’s NOT A LOOPHOLE if it’s in the CBA! It’s CLEARLY written. Stop acting like they are somehow circumventing the system or finding “loopholes”. It was Ohtani’s idea. All the whining and crying is getting pathetic.

[@richardfloss832]

@@kennethmccullough1342 All the whining and crying are from people who understand the sport. Having the best players all on one team should come with consequences, just because they outsmarted the system does not make it right. It should be an even field with pay but ig not. Shohei deserves the money but the dodgers should face something for it.

[@sb17146]

@@richardfloss832 this is not unheard of in the sports world. Brady did it for years playing for the Pats. Thing with Ohtani is he just wants to win and the Dodgers are super lucky to have the best player who's not about the money.

[@jerryfusilli8152]

"......there is 50 feet of crap, then there is the METS" 😂😂😂😂😂

[@Fartpoopboop]

It’s can’t possibly be a “loophole” when it’s explicitly permitted in the CBA…

[@dacryptkeeper6836]

I think he was damned smart! Not only does this make it possible for the Dodgers to acquire additional players to help them in their quest for World Series Championships during his tenure, it also guarantees he will have quite a hefty retirement plan! His endorsements will make life very comfortable over the next ten years. It's a win-win for Ohtani!!!!

[@metabolicrevolution]

They can change whatever they want this situation is unlikely to come up again. The stars have to align and a player willing to defer. Won't happen again

[@rawkusrex]

yeah, with that amount of money in deferment, you're more than likely never see this again.

[@g.williams2047]

MLBs biggest issue is that a lot of owners don’t want to win. They need a salary floor or new owners.

[@andrewmacdaniels212]

In order to win a World Series Championship, luck has to be on your side. Because the game of Baseball is 70% skill 30% luck. A skillful team and good managing only aides luck. (Baseball Gods). You have to be lucky enough to hit a clutch home run off the foul pole to win in extra innings. You have to be lucky enough to hit a RBI single down the line over the first base bag to drive in the game wining run in the Fall Classic. And a teams luck and skill has to be in sync in order to win.

[@paulbradley8533]

Remember, 60% of Baseball is 80% mental

[@lukeyamaguchi3175]

I will argue that a contract like this makes star players more affordable for smaller market teams

[@Somedads73]

This is simply ohtani wanting his team to be competitive everyone needs to chill. He's also super smart and fiscally brilliant

[@douglascarter2078]

He's not a very good gambler apparently. 😂

[@SoloKatOnly]

@@douglascarter2078 not better than you

[@douglascarter2078]

@@SoloKatOnly😂 I bet his arm doesn't last two seasons pitching. 😂 I bet he retires before his ten year contract with The Dodgers expires. 😂

[@SoloKatOnly]

@@douglascarter2078 of course you'd bet. Ippei learned a lot from you.

[@douglascarter2078]

@@SoloKatOnly Ippei is innocent and took the fall for dirtbag Shohei.

[@urielrdz30]

With Ohtani in LA im sure the price will sky rocket in the ball park. The days of a family going to their ballpark are gone as expensive as LA gets every year.

[@Metsfan59]

Shohei ohtani is making 2 million dollars a year When he retires he will make 68 million dollars a year That is 25 million more than the mlb record The Oakland athletics payroll is 25 million dollars

[@Mekias]

Ohtani is potentially giving up a lot of money by doing this. With the average annual return of the stock market, 460 million could turn into like 1.5 billion over 10 years. In the end, the $46 mill/yr against the CBT is right about where everyone expected so the Dodgers don't get an on-field advantage from this.

[@MadeagoestoNam]

Giving up money? Sure. But he doesn't just want to make an obscene, unmanageable amount of money. He wants to win. This is the best way to get paid and also win.

[@berto8232]

Exactly. Ohtani is losing money by deferring his money. I think he’s knows being a Dodger will increase his off the field revenue and can make that up in advertisements. Once he retires, I assume that portion will go down a lot so he’s just getting a retirement fund

[@nerychristian]

Yeah, but you forget that the government also taxes money you invest in the stock market. So you pay either way. And there is no guarantee in the stock market.

[@bd1zzle]

why does the end money matter? still be doing what he loves and stay competitive to win a title where the angels lost players due to injuries and even him twice to tommy john surgery and seeing his team nose dive out of the playoffs or him literally doing all the work and at times got the game tying double then next batter strikeout to end the possible W for Anaheim.

[@rawkusrex]

knowing and what i've read about Ohtani, money isn't a motivator. tbh, i think he would've signed with the Dodgers even if they had offered him 50-100 million dollars less than the highest bid.

[@UKn0Wh0]

The only reason this is bad for baseball is bc it exposes how shitty owners are. There is no big or small market in baseball when there's not floor or cap. Any owner can spend as much as they want and defer as much as they want. Only "big market" advantage is the dodgers ownership spend money. The angels are in the same city and Giants, A's, Rockies, D-backs, mariners, and padres are all in huge massive markets and thats just the west coast. not to mention chicago or NY or miami. All the luxury tax goes to the "poor" teams year after year and the owners choose to pocket the money istead of buying players. Stop crying bc your organization sucks. Complain to your owner

[@bd1zzle]

showed how some wanted to just show off they own a team, Baltimore.

[@Mrmcnoob]

F the dodgers this barley affects their payroll so they can sign even more better plays it’s so unfair for every other team in the league and it’s all because the mlb only wants the Yankees and dodgers to win

[@sully51]

Barely affects payroll? This contract is the largest CBT hit for any player ever. The team also has to put the deferred money into a trust account every year, they can't just wait until after the 10 years then start coming up with the cash.

[@chavy-_-4690]

just shows how much he wants to win because in his statement according to the contract that the dodgers must spend the savings he gave up for reasonable talent

[@RoeZaid]

Are we ignoring the fact that the dodgers will still have to pay this money eventually? Theres no reason this should be illegal, the dodgers will have to pay the price, just after the 10 years of the contract.

[@sweatyraider7241]

No idea why people think player's association will be mad, with this deal the player got PAID PAID and a comfortable retirement. Players associations are celebrating lmao

[@omalleycaboose5937]

I think Shohei got the deal to show his worth while also proving he's not greedy, based on all fronts

[@nerychristian]

He wants to win world series.

[@bd1zzle]

@@nerychristian literally seeing his team nose dive to last in the division while before all-star break had a chance for a wildcard

[@DW-op7ly]

That is Ohtani’s fault how??? He has a 3.01 ERA and a 38-19 record on a team that was routinely 10-15 games under 500 each year. A team that would blow about 4 to 6 saves on Ohtani each year I think it was 2 years ago. For Ohtani to get his wins??? He had to average a .650 ERW to get those wins that year

[@omalleycaboose5937]

@@DW-op7ly what?

[@gDiniM]

Are you people not understanding what he just signed? lmao it's 700 million dollars and he's getting all that money from sponsors. He smartly set himself up for life, it has everything to do with money 😅 guys gonna be a billionaire in 10 year's. It's easy to not look greedy when you're gonna make 10s of millions a year regardless of your actions. This deal allowed the dodgers to price out so many teams while not facing the proper luxury tax. Baseball needs to fix this shit lmao and I'm a Mets fan who still believes that even though we can abuse the same BS.

[@Lord_Internet]

I think the deferred payments thing is fine. But, I do think that the CBT should be applied to the years the contract is. So in ohtanis case, it would still count as 70m a year towards the cbt. Whether he is getting paid 2m now and 68m later. That would resolve this whole issue all together. Let the teams pay the players 30 years down the line. But count the CBT amount of when they played and the contract amount.

[@itsukiwakai]

The thing is, the contract does not worth 700m, it’s a fake number, it all comes down to the present value of it, which worth only 460m according to CBT calculation. It means that if Ohtani signed a 10yrs 460m deal without deferral with Dodgers, it worth just the same as the 700m contract.

[@Zanchcrow]

Lol definitely not, that's not how money works, the 68m deferral is not worth 68m today.

[@Silver_Wolf-141]

as much as i hate the deal itself, im glad we'll see some postseason ohtani

[@darryberrymemes5739]

hey thats the same thing the yankees said about rodon

[@axef]

for one series

[@inviz1440]

@@axef 10 year contract buddy

[@axef]

@@inviz1440 okay, then ten NLDS losses

[@soaplesstv]

There's 30 billionaire owners. "Poor franchises" only exist because some owners treat teams like a hobby, not a business. Ohtani wants to win, why settle for a team "for balance"?

[@GeraldM_inNC]

Deferred money isn't the only blatant evasion of the luxury tax. Signing players to contracts running past the probable end of their career is another means to the same end.

[@RyanDepauloDegenerateGambler]

As a New Yorker and former ESPN radio intern when max Kellerman was there I always adopted his take. There should NOT be a salary cap and the disparity Is fair. Because in theory teams are spending an amount that reflects the amount of people that team winning will make happy. Big markets SHOULD have better teams than small market as silly and bias as that may sound. If for no other reason then for number of fans that get joy. So this contract is wild but I think it’s ok

[@itsmealex8959]

The only downside of deferring 650 million 10 years out is the vslue of that 650 mil will depreciate before he touches it. Not to mention, its only 68 mil a year starting in 2034, so the 68 mil he makes in 2044 will be worth less than the 68 mil he makes in 2034.

[@sportsfansports3353]

You're right. I wonder if he'll be OK, financially speaking?

[@laartwork]

Did he just say ONLY 68 million. Guess what... in 10 years that will still be a buttload of money annually... or lifetime.

[@nerychristian]

Even if he takes all the money now, in one lump sum, it would get taxed so badly, that he would lose at least 40% of it. It's crazy how the government taxes people who are successful.

[@mirikaku5811]

Shohei said the amount is laughable! But it’s a great headline grabbing for the SPORTS OF BASEBALL. It was in the news globally!! Now people are curious of baseball ⚾️ player

[@elasmojones]

Smartest move in the history of baseball

[@bobbydylanio]

There's nothing more frustrating than a blockbuster trade 6 months before the season begins.

[@shartman3612]

Watch the kardashians or something then nobody cares what you think.

[@bobbydylanio]

Only you, who took the time to write a comment I suppose?@@shartman3612

[@aznpanda510x]

He wanted to give 100% but they said he can’t work for free 😂

[@CasperBoglim]

There’s a reason the new CBA had unlimited deferrals in it. Just kinda gotta accept this as it’s totally within the rules and barely a loophole. You’re going to see it again in the future.

[@maxdubs222]

It was meant for small market teams to be able to afford star players not for big market teams to exploit and take advantage of like this. And the league loves to get on their high horse about competitive balance but this happens

[@CasperBoglim]

@@maxdubs222 as long as Dave roberts is the dodgers manager he’ll over manage them into a competitive balance with the league so I wouldn’t get too upset yet lol

[@WembeyNoodl]

@@maxdubs222who fucking cares. People want to see Shohei succeed make it happen by any means necessary

[@mirikaku5811]

You’ll NEVER see 97% deferred in 10years with no interest 😂i😂😂 rare as 🦄 trending..no chance!

[@blainekussmaul5418]

How bout the fact the Yankees last year wanted to do this with Judge and MLB forbid them to do it

[@manuellomeli9646]

Should be illegal for small market teams to take the taxes from big market teams and pocket it. It's kind of hypocritical, saying 2020 championship has an asterix, and not to mention them losing to 2 teams that were proven to have cheated in the WS.

[@FBinTexasNate]

iTalk FINALLLY I agree!!!! This Ohtani contract is horrible for the league.

[@mirikaku5811]

Nah, great for baseball, now they had global headlines, people abroad wants to see Ohtani and learn the baseball rules.

[@inathoiehohs8551]

Not everyone can pull it off. If anyone else did it, they would be labelled pretentious by the media but not with Shohei because he was never about the money and he's already pulling in 40-50 mill just off endorsements so it makes sense. Remember the money he got from being runners-up in the Home Run Derby 2021, he gave it all to the staff.

[@Atsuya02]

Rich teams: win championship through star power and money, they get to show everyone a fancy luxurious car but if somehow it crashed, it feels like they just wasted a ton of money for nothing. 'Poor' teams: win championship cheaply and all the benefits of winning, just like winning the lottery you will get a ton of money by doing less.

[@aidensones]

This is the type of signing I would pull off in OOTP or MLBTS😂

[@brianzimmerman1050]

I don’t think you really explained why this was a move only rich, big-market teams could pull. Of course the $700M figure is only reachable by the rich teams, but you were talking about the deferred element being something that poor teams couldn’t take advantage of. Why is that?

[@nahbro7282]

Biggest win-win contract ever.

[@inviz1440]

in sports history for sure

[@chicagodude8888]

When I read significant deferrals, $100-250 million tops is what I had in mind. $2 million/year? Rule changes are on the way. Other teams take note.

[@baunzai]

no, shohei ohtani still counts at 46m in the payroll, but is getting paid 2m a year

[@randyshoemaker964]

That won't happen because no other player will ever do that. Ohtani makes over $50 mil a year outside of baseball and that is going up. The next closest player is Mike Trout at $5mil. No other player will have the willingness to take that much less. This is a unicorn contract and won't happen again.

[@chicagodude8888]

@@randyshoemaker964 Certainly not to that extreme. I’m talking about outbidding other teams for a star free agent by offering them big $ plus 15-20% in deferred salary after his contract expires. Like paying Manny Machado 10/375 or 10/400 with $75 million deferred from 2033-2042 or $160 million deferred from 2033-45. A strategic way to outbid other teams while creating cap flexibility.

[@cap10wr41ths]

he did this because he saw rendon wasting angels money lel

[@chantaku-kd2fw]

You have FAILED to mention the most important thing about this deferral. NO INTEREST. You only mentioned that the dollar value today is less than tomorrow. That could happen with a difference in interest rate, and doesn't necessarily point out that it has no interest. The intent of this contract is to WIN. Not for him to get paid. Not sure why people want to make this in to money talk... Because it's not about money... US media who are against this contract are only looking at the numbers and complaining, missing the intent of WHY Ohtani put together a contract like this.

[@ren1818ren]

Most unique contract in history for the most unique athlete in history! 💙🤘

[@jerryfusilli8152]

As a dodger fan I can humbly offer to y'all , this movie quote "I (we) don't make the rules, I (we) just follow them" $10.00 if yu can tell me the movie 😂

[@johnnycage1057]

Is it Moneyball

[@WantonBaby]

Strange Brew Doug Bob &!Geddy ????

[@laartwork]

All I keep hearing is "I don't make monkeys, I just train them"

[@jerryfusilli8152]

@@laartwork awe is the little babies diaper wet..... 🥲🥲

[@jerryfusilli8152]

@@johnnycage1057 nope Biloxi Blues 😄

[@zenofthezealous1582]

It really does go to show you that throughout most of human history its not the realization of someone’s vast amount of wealth that gets people talking It’s them essentially ceding that wealth due to some reason (I know Ohtani has loads of off-field endorsements but still). It’s both always about the money and NEVER about the money

[@nrox1051]

A dollar today is more important than a dollar tomorrow(10 years). So the true value of the contract is $460M is mind blowing.

[@inathoiehohs8551]

Best of both worlds. With his latest injury, 700 mill contract seems high, but when he defers most of it (97%) then the contract becomes reasonable for the Dodgers. And Shohei is already rich without the money so he can afford to defer it. Both end up looking good in the media, Dodgers look smart and Shohei look ungreedy, win-win all the way.

[@jimc.goodfellas]

I dont understand why everyone is so up in arms about this....who cares

[@ItBeNolanTho]

Lmfao if you can’t see the issue with this for the overall market of the MLB idk what to tell you

[@tony1999111]

Because it's the Dodgers. If it was a "small market" team no one would care

[@michaelquintero5260]

Not your money so why does anyone care is right? Mind YOUR business.

[@roussin_]

Baseball fans really have 2 brain cells or what? This is so bad for your sport

[@ajandfred7223]

@@tony1999111a small market team can’t even do what they did because they don’t have the money, that’s why it’s an issue because it can turn into only 5-6 teams can afford the top players in the offseason

[@beatonthedonis]

In the UK, the new American owners of Chelsea football club started handing out 8y contracts to young players transferred in and then selling homegrown players for reduced fees just so they can avoid European rules which prohibit spending too much more than you earn over a certain period (so transfer costs are spread over 8 years instead of the usual 3-4, and selling homegrown players represents pure profit because there was no initial transfer fee to bring them in).

[@716_ハディくん]

same owner todd owned dodger and chelsea

[@rolandhdz17]

I still don't understand why it should be illegal. Dodgers will be compromised in the future or is that somehow not good enough of a penalty? Plus, we'll likely never see this done again in our lifetime

[@neomatrix4412]

Yamamoto is coming o'er

[@bcardicoke]

Dodgers will definitely not be compromised in the future. They get about $300 million /yr just for their local tv contract, plus the increases in the ticket prices, ad revenue, jersey sales. They are projected to make more than $70 million more a year just with having Ohtani play with them.

[@99bimmer]

I'm sure Gavin Newsome is pissed. Cuz Shohei doesn't live in CA off season, and he sure as shit isn't gonna live there after he retires. So the the Dodgers and Shohei gets to fuck CA, and the Dodgers profit. Win WIn

[@adamwhite904]

I can’t believe he didn’t take interest on this deferral

[@FrancyFam7]

There are no "poor" teams. The premise of this video is faulty. Every single franchise could have "exploited" this "loophole". Nothing unfair about it.

[@chilltownallstar]

It’s a smart decision to defer all that money. He can leave cali after and avoid the ridiculous state tax. That almost 50% of his contract saved and he will get paid no matter what. If he stays hitting at least dodgers will make that money back x10 during his contract. Most out there have no idea how much bank Ohtani makes not just for himself but the team he plays for. Great contract and crazy thing is it only works for Ohtani considering his marketability.

[@hunterhose347]

So Aaron Judge’s contract would have been vetoed by MLB if the Padres signed him like Ohtani signed with the Dodgers but then the Dodger’s don’t get vetoed?

[@lexajewel]

rlly dissagree with you on this one. i think i'm just failing to see how this is bad for baseball. a contract like this will be really rare going forward, like i don't think any team could afford to make this the norm. it's a very risky contract, which the dodgers have decided shohei is worth.

[@Lingboysc2]

he's sacrificing personal wealth to be great, that shouldn't be illegal. Plus, this is bringing so many eyes to baseball. People are just coping because he didn't sign with their team imo

[@Lingboysc2]

also the angels spend insane amounts of money and still suck.

[@jaydeeh77]

Facts! 💯

[@collaberatorzseanhuang8952]

Athletes should consider more defered contracts like this. If anything, it guarantees them wealth later in life. How many times have we seen some rookies blow away the million early , and go broke later. ⚾️🏀🏈

[@gj1234567899999]

Cause you can’t guarantee teams and owners can’t go broke either 10 years from now…

[@howo357]

That’s stupid. The money the make even after tax in a low risk investment will grow a lot more in 10 years. Ohtani can sign a 400mil deal and have more than a 700m 10 years later easily

[@kenbagwell8551]

No one is guaranteed tomorrow.

[@theaverageDon]

Yeah I'll never stop calling them the "pay to win Dodgers" and devalue anything they win 🙄😮‍💨

[@irvin626]

“Hide your money. I smell poor people.” - Us Dodger fans to all you haters.

[@ronmexico7256]

Most Dodgers fans don’t have money to hide bro 😂

[@knathanknathan]

He’ll be an injury prone

[@matthewdelacruz2479]

This is just an expensive first round exit 😂

[@irvin626]

⁠@@ronmexico7256 Of course I didn’t mean the actual fans. But our team does lol.

[@el_puma_real]

There were other teams wanting to sign him that could have spent this too….what’s your point?

[@viper6525D]

Dodgers fan here. Yes, I am happy and hyped that we got Ohtani and I don’t regret that contract…for now! Here is where I pump the breaks, because iTalk’s right. The team with the largest payrolls, the biggest contracts, don’t always win the World Series. Hell the top 3 spenders this year didn’t even make the playoffs! Yes the Dodgers are a great team who can win a WS, on paper, but we’ve been saying that about them for years now. Baseball isn’t just about money. Trust me, a decade’s worth of choking and heartache reinforces that thinking. And even taking inflation into account, it doesn’t change the fact that the Dodgers handcuff themselves to a player coming off a major injury for 20 years, half of which he won’t even play for and for significantly more than when he played for them. As a fan of baseball, well I’m torn. On one hand, yea I can agree this contract is insane, borderline BS. It’s like giving tax cuts to Amazon, the rich keep getting richer. But on the other I’m reminded of an old saying “Don’t hate the player, hate the game.” Neither the Dodgers or Ohtani did anything illegal. Ohtani had this offer for everyone he negotiated so everyone potentially had a chance. Ohtani just chose LA and that’s his choice. The fact is this game is broken, and designed that way. At the end of the day, MLB is a business. And as long as that is true for the higher ups, CBA negotiations will go down the same; we’ll demand everything to help small market teams and handcuff large market teams, salary floors, salary caps, banning contracts like these, ect, ect. All those are dealbreakers for one side or another. We had a chance in 2022, and MLB failed us.

[@HBTSO]

It’s LEGAL folks stop the hate

[@iTalkStudios]

It's legal, but prob should be restricted a little more

[@HBTSO]

@@iTalkStudios fair but don’t once in a life time players deserve once in a life time deals?

[@Carlosab818]

Othani offered the same deal to all teams

[@aidenawe9359]

@@HBTSOyou do have a point

[@michaelbaucom4019]

Nothing new here, ask Mets fans about Bobby Bonilla

[@kevinhuang3830]

Deferring money is great for the short term but will affect the payroll in the future. Sometimes deferring money ends up backfiring and then you get a Chris Davis situation.

[@sully51]

With the current CBT rules, the money that is deferred must be placed into a trust account within 2 years of it being "earned". This won't affect their payroll 15 years from now because they will have paid the entirety of the contract to the trust during the next 10-12 years.

[@mirikaku5811]

Who defers 97%? No way this will be a trend. Rare as the unicorn 🦄

[@inalavalamp]

Only Ohtani can do this because of how much money he makes in endorsements. Baseball never thought there would be a player like him who’d make more money in endorsements alone, so there of course weren’t any limits on deferents. Most players need that money now. I commend him for wanting to take less to make the team more competitive, but there should be a limit to how much a team can defer. Maybe 30-40% ? It’s brilliant, but in the same way that billionaires have their money stashed in over seas bank accounts is brilliant. It’s exploiting the system and shouldn’t be allowed.

[@345Taco]

Ohtani's agents and the Dodgers have been very "creative" throughout this whole process. I have a new evil empire to root against

[@inviz1440]

so you didn't go against us back then? wow shocking

[@345Taco]

@@inviz1440 I just thought they were failures before. Now I want them to fail

[@lesliejacoby9137]

Here's my thing: if the Dodgers dont win atleast *2* World Series would this be considered a failure to Dodgers fans. To everyone else I'm sure yes and while you can say winning a world series aint easy the Dodgers are basically singing themselves up for hopefully 10 years of doing great for a decade after of suffering. It doesn' matter how many WS they make it matters if they win and to do all this to be less successful than the 3 WS champs that were the Giants would be crazy. Either way saying stuff like this is "great for baseball" rather than for news and press is crazy in my eyes.

[@timotmon]

Yep, by doing stuff like this all the pressure is on the team. Small market teams did great last year an nobody faults them if the don't get a series win. Dodgers are seen as a failure year after year if there's no ring to show for it and just watch. They'll probably get bounced again in the first round.

[@laartwork]

It's a business. The organization needs to put butt in seats, sell merch, advertising and sign them tv contracts. Fans can whine like Cubs fans did for over 100 years. Win, then get back to whining. It's not a failure to the Dodgers as long as they are an attraction. Winning is just a biproduct and gives the team and fans momentary satisfaction.

[@lesliejacoby9137]

@@laartwork as a business sure but as a fanbase no. Some are exceptions because they have traditions and go beyond the sport like the Cubs or the Philly fanbase in all sports but for the dodgers I don't feel like that holds the same atleast for what they have gone through lately.

[@lesliejacoby9137]

@@Wolf-wc1js I'm sure many more fans would agree with you because it also comes into mind that if these next 4 years don't go well the dodgers will struggle to get star players to come to the team because of failing (unless they get some big time manager with Bruce Bochy status to take over).

[@lesliejacoby9137]

@@laartwork also to add the dodgers are a team that far from suffers from money problems seeing that this deal was made and they are literally top 3 in baseball markets. This helps them definitely make more money but it's just easy to think how much this can hurt them down the line because inflation will make that 68 million be more than 68 million lol.

[@potluck5896]

"Of course it's legal cause it just happened" So, if I just killed someone that's fine? That's not a good way to define something

[@MrLokojorge]

How are the Dodgers exploiting this? Othani is the one who offered this to any team who was willing to negotiate with him.

[@WembeyNoodl]

He also wanna win so I think the dodgers offer him the best chance

[@drizzle452]

Yea people keep saying how genius they are…to be fair, they’re a great organization and attract great players

[@Clyde_Frog]

I think we're doing the world a disservice by saying "the gap between rich and poor", and should just say "the gap between the rich and the rest" as someone who makes around 100K a year, the gap between me and someone who makes say 25K a year (4/1 ratio) VS the gap between me and a multi millionaire or billionaire is not comparable at all, now we're talking 100/1 to 1000 ++/1 ratio. Anyway just saying lol

[@rightersbloc]

Sounds American to me....

[@matthewrankin3528]

Clown take, bro. The adjusted present value of the contact is in line with what everyone thought he would get and what any team would have to pay. The luxury tax hit is exactly what it would be if they signed a straight 10 year deal with no deferrals. You can’t read the first headline you see on twixxxer and then assume you know enough to analyze with any nuance. Icky stuff.

[@Alej_andr016]

This is bullshi but im loving it 😭

[@berto8232]

Deferring money seems to make sense if you plan to not live in the US once you leave baseball.

[@euffemgrain]

Every team could have done it had they wanted to sign Ohtani. He took the best offer, end of story.

[@sweatyraider7241]

Not sure why people assume the player's association would complain. The player got a record breaking pay day because of this rule why would the association want it removed? 🤣

[@nateblack3687]

Complete BS would be prevented by MLB. In addition this type of contract should be authorized and approved by every team in major league baseball . No one but the Dodgers could think of not paying salary for 10 years. . What this doesn't take into consideration is the Dodgers are side tracking and avoiding luxury tax. It's not the Dodgers fault it's Major League baseballs fault for blatantly showing no parity in the sport. The Dodgers are just taking this to a whole new level of ruining the game with the permission of MLB

[@nateblack3687]

Seems this is the only way Ohtani seems to think he can win a championship

[@nateblack3687]

This is 10 times (it's able to be done for 10 seasons) worse than banging on a trash can. The Dodgers are Major League baseballs ⚾ authorized cheaters

[@nateblack3687]

​@@sweatyraider7241because they're part of a league dummy. A league that should be showcasing parity

[@rsuriyop]

The kind of contract that Ohtani had just signed with the Dodgers should definitely descend into ex post facto. It just has to. Absolutely no way should anyone or any team be able to get away with something like this.

[@TheSolidSnakeOil]

If they don't want to see contracts like this, the answer is simple, a salary cap. And I mean a real salary cap. Why not throw in a contract length cap like the NBA while they're at it. Until then, everyone can suck it. And it's not like those other teams aren't going to benefit in some way. Whether it's a home series against them or through revenue sharing. They get a piece. A small piece but a piece.

[@BeefPapa]

And let the owners keep more money? No thanks.

[@Truckerdaddy]

What it did was screw future players from getting good money LAD. Because they are gonna be dishing out 68 million a year for a guy who isnt playing for them

[@Mr1stcat]

Why should it be illegal if it was ok'd by the CBA that's ridiculous iTalkStudios it just makes you look like a salty opposing teams fan 🤷‍♂️ who you should be mad at is other teams ownerships who weren't willing to put up the money for shohei, the Yankees the red Sox the Rangers the Mets and the giants all could have given shohei a 700 million dollar contract

[@bopic3]

Salary caps are coming to MLB as a result of this contract.

[@p_hat]

ohtani could easily invest half that amount this decade, and make well over 700m by the time of 20 year maturity.

[@justapiratesfan]

I know the classic trope: “they’re not poor, the small markets just don’t want to win”. I’m sorry, there is no way the small market teams could ever pay players the money big market teams do. They literally couldn’t do it if they wanted to. So, yea, I’d call it unfair. Thanks for the video dude.

[@garya.2281]

Shout out to Ohtanis' representation for finding the loophole

[@Cantillonslayer]

The team will double in value before they pay the 680

[@blazehall8086]

Personally I think all these “big contracts” are actually deferred in the writing and closed doors. I See a lot of players still “working” too soon after retirement, when one would think they’d be relaxing and enjoying all that money they ran out of town with.

[@shinogu921]

Central division except for Chicago won't get another World Series, franchise star, hall of famer

[@S0ulEaTeR1012]

Smaller teams gotta be smarter than rich teams.

[@seanredmond1366]

As a Giants fan this is the worst case scenario. Not only did we not get Shohei, but he went to the Bums AND they leveraged his contract to avoid income and luxury tax considerations and leave money on the table during his tenure to pay for other needed pieces. It's a fucking nightmare of biblical proportions. It totally sucks but I'm contractually required to hate Shohei for the rest of my life now. Fuck.

[@inathoiehohs8551]

Well you can root for Shohei to get all his personal stats but still root for the Dodgers to lose...Giants need Bochy back

[@fhsd1998]

If Angels actually tried to bring in help Ohtani and Trout win, they'd probably be the one in this contract with Ohtani.

[@junito1008]

If I would’ve known that, I would’ve signed him deferring $69,999,999/yr paying him $10 for 10yrs

[@johnisouth6636]

With these owners( So called Elie scum) money laundering is right in front of your eyes. The players playing along? I hope Sho didn't sell his soul. Look what's going on people. The scum hide behind these things.

[@fr2ncm9]

This contract should not be approved by the commissioners office. In 1975 Bowie Kuhn voided several player moves made by the late Oakland A's owner Charles Finley. Finley tried to sell his star players for cash. This contract allowed the Dodgers to sign Yamamoto. I'd have been against this even if my team made these deals.

[@RudeDog24]

People are way overreacting to this, like who cares change the rule or don’t it doesn’t matter because this is never gonna happen again that’s why ohtani is a unicorn he makes 45 million in endorsements the next player closest is 5 mil so he’s the only player that is ever gonna be able to defer this much money