Revealed: Shohei Ohtani To Defer An Insane 97% Of His Contract

Shohei Ohtani on a $2M salary? That's the deal he agreed to as a new shocking report on Monday suggests he'll defer a whopping $68M of his $70M annual paycheck for every year of his 10-year deal with the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Looks like the Dodgers will have a lot more to spend on other players than everyone thought.

Exclusive @TheAthletic: Shohei Ohtani will defer $68 million per year of his $70 million annual salary over the course of his 10-year, $700 million deal with the Dodgers, allowing the team to keep spending, according to a person briefed on the terms.https://t.co/IsnWlsbTq9

— Fabian Ardaya (@FabianArdaya) December 11, 2023

The exclusive report was dropped today by Fabian Ardaya of The Athletic, and illustrates how much Ohtani wants the Dodgers to have the resources to put a winning team around him. 

Ohtani will receive $2 million per year for the next 10 years, then $68 million per year between 2034-43, per source.

— Mark Feinsand (@Feinsand) December 11, 2023

This means that Ohtani will earn just $2M a year for the next decade, then $68M a year from 2034 to 2043, from age 40 to 49.

As noted by Jeff Passan, the unprecedented structure of the contract was proposed by Ohtani himself. The insider noted that Ohtani's off-the-field earnings ($40M last year) are significant enough for him to do it. Passan also noted that it is fully legal under baseball's CBA (deferred money is "limitless.")

$680M deferred? Wow.

Photo: Kiyoshi Mio-USA TODAY Sports