New Los Angeles Dodgers superstar Shohei Ohtani will receive more than $700 million (before taxes, of course) on his record-setting deal.
Last Saturday, Ohtani and the Dodgers agreed to a historic 10-year contract worth a whopping $700 million. This is the largest contract in the history of professional sports, surpassing the $674 million USD deal Lionel Messi signed with Barcelona FC.
According to Ronald Blum of the Associated Press, the 29-year-old Ohtani will receive several luxurious perks on his $700 million deal: No-trade protection, his own hotel suite for road games, his own luxury suite at Dodgers stadium and a full-time interpreter.
Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic noted that Ohtani’s deal also outlines that he “will donate to club charity amount not to exceed one percent.” Interestingly, the deal also outlines that Ohtani has the option to opt out of his deal if there’s a “specific change in Dodger personnel”, though it’s unclear who that refers to.
Ohtani will join a Dodgers club that has reached the postseason every year since 2013. They have won the NL West division title every year over that span with the exception of 2021, as well as three NL pennants (2017, 2018 and 2020) and the 2020 World Series championship.
In his final season with the Los Angeles Angels, the two-way superstar hit .304 with 44 home runs and 95 RBI to go along with a 1.066 OPS. As a pitcher, Ohtani went 10-5 with a 3.14 ERA and 167 strikeouts in 132 innings pitched.
