Having not yet finished his second season with the Los Angeles Dodgers, Shohei Ohtani is already providing surplus value to the franchise just 22 months after signing a 10-year, $700 million contract in free agency. <\/p>\n
Per MLB insider Joon Lee, the Dodgers made back the “entirety” of that $700 million investment during Ohtani’s first season through ticket sales, merchandise sales and worldwide marketing deals. <\/p>\n
Ohtani signed one of the most unique contracts in sports history when he signed with the Dodgers. It is technically a 10-year, $700 million deal, but he presented the idea<\/a> to structure it with $680 million of that being deferred over a 10-year period from 2034 to ’43. <\/p>\n That brought the present-day value of the contract down to $460 million, giving the Dodgers more flexibility under the competitive balance tax. They continued to further invest in the roster by signing free agents like Blake Snell, Tanner Scott and retaining Teoscar Hern\u00e1ndez last offseason. <\/p>\n In the wake of Ohtani signing with the Dodgers in December 2023, ticket and merchandise sales immediately went through the roof. StubHub spokesperson Adam Budelli\u00a0told USA Today’s Jordan Mendoza<\/a> there was a 25x increase in daily web searches for the Dodgers one day after the superstar’s decision. <\/p>\n Fanatics announced Ohtani’s No. 17 Dodgers jersey set a record for most sales within 48 hours of release. <\/p>\n