Shohei Ohtani just got paid.
The baseball superstar just agreed to a jaw-dropping 10-year, $700 million deal with the Los Angeles Dodgers on Saturday, making him the highest-paid athlete in North American sports history, as USA TODAY Sports‘ Bob Nightengale noted.
In fact, Ohtani’s deal is worth much, much more than the previous record deal in the MLB, Mike Trout’s $426.5 million deal with the Los Angeles Angels, Ohtani’s previous team. The two-way star now has the largest contract by total value in MLB history, according to ESPN Stats & Info.
After a long sweepstakes process, Ohtani has finally cashed in with the biggest MLB deal ever, which puts immediate pressure on the Dodgers to win as many World Series as they possibly can.
Shohei Ohtani overtakes Mike Trout's 12-year, $426.5M deal for the largest contract by total value in MLB history.
Ohtani's $70M AAV is by far the highest in MLB history. Last season, the Orioles ($60.9M) and Athletics ($56.9M) each had opening day payrolls below that mark. https://t.co/HOBNPQLwlE pic.twitter.com/8jhtThDJUe
— ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) December 9, 2023
Ohtani is clearly worth the money as he’s the best baseball player in the world, but MLB fans still couldn’t believe any athlete could make this much money with one new contract.
In all seriousness, I expected $500 million and thought $600 million was possible, but Shohei Ohtani's $700 million deal with the Dodgers is above and beyond what I'd ever thought was in play.
— Grant McAuley (@grantmcauley) December 9, 2023
brb trying to teach my 10 week old son how to hit and pitch https://t.co/rgc3u7t7uq
— Mina Kimes (@minakimes) December 9, 2023
i knew i should’ve forced the baby to play baseball https://t.co/WKLn5YD0K9
— Shea Serrano (@SheaSerrano) December 9, 2023
Raise your kids to be the best baseball player on the planet https://t.co/f6N5piWiEw
— Field Yates (@FieldYates) December 9, 2023
To put in this in perspective, LeBron James has earned a projected $530 million in his entire NBA career. https://t.co/Qs9wKi4OTz
— Sam Quinn (@SamQuinnCBS) December 9, 2023
Market-defining contract for all of American pro sports. https://t.co/TG4mWeCvMB pic.twitter.com/63P52jO5pG
— Cameron Wolfe (@CameronWolfe) December 9, 2023
QB++++ money… https://t.co/YHh28I5zrt
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) December 9, 2023
The average annual value of Shohei Ohtani’s contract is $3 million less than the Orioles’ current projected 2024 payroll. https://t.co/xKUEIwWAXf
— Nathan Ruiz (@NathanSRuiz) December 9, 2023
that's it I'm learning the Knuckleball https://t.co/dEo5H6izYj
— Kofie.bsky.social (@Kofie) December 9, 2023
Mane!! https://t.co/qRzNiSR62b pic.twitter.com/3KhrPC3ERh
— Damien Woody (@damienwoody) December 9, 2023
1 man. Getting the entire payroll for the Rays per year for the next 10 yrs https://t.co/ofInrxvkgL pic.twitter.com/jjOGd8yxwA
— Dylan Sobo (@DaBolt727) December 9, 2023
Thats one way to win the Ohtani Sweepstakes. https://t.co/tTWn6w994k
— Rich Eisen (@richeisen) December 9, 2023
