The biggest ever contract in sport

The biggest contract in sport is not held by Cristiano Ronaldo or Lionel Messi. Nor is it by Patrick Mahomes.

In fact, it’s a baseball player, from the LA Dodgers, Shohei Ohtani. His 10-year deal is worth $700m. But who is he? Why are they paying him that much? And how can they afford it?

Seb Stafford-Bloor writes. Marco Bevilacqua illustrates.

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#Baseball #MLB #LADodgers

[Msyfr]

Gambling on someone’s ability to stay consistent over 10 years is wild!

[TheKrostiman]

Ah tax dodgers, the favorite american past time.

[pulkitjain]

As a football fan, it is insane to me that a 30 y.o is being offered a 10 year contract, that too at top top salaries

[FlashMeterRed]

If his earned income is considered lower because of the value of the dollar at a later date, then the value of the contract should likewise be considered lower for this analysis

[tsukishima]

Even Messi earns money this way from Barcelona

[cadesky]

If 10 year deals exist in football then Ronaldo and Messi would have had contracts worth billions.

[MrMooemoney]

So they actually only paying him 44 million a year.

[old_H]

What if the Dodgers go bankrupt in 2034 ? Will Ohtani get his deferred wages?

[leandrowngo]

It’s the same with Chelsea FC and how they’re buying a ton of players but spreading out the fee over many long years. Amortisation of fees.

[ilovelimpfries]

I live in asia and I dont watch baseball. But I have angels gear and watch all of japan wbc games and some angels game. I dont have any other baseball related goods. That is ohtani's value to baseball, not just MLB.

[mushfiquekabir]

deferring in such a huge contract is understandable but from the player's perspective, receiving only $2mil now and deferring $68mil seems wild to me

[jamespurs]

Agent Ohtani coming in clutch to sign Yamamoto and ruin baseball for the rest of us!

[salisusuleimana.]

Cristiano Ronaldo's contract with Saudi Arabia is worth 500 million till 2025 on the pitch and a further 1 billion off the the pitch till 2030 potentially making his entire contract worth a staggering $1.5 Billion dollars. Just Insane! 🔥

[timianalytics]

I can't defend why I watched this video till the end haven't never watched a base ball match in my life 😭😭

[achumumu]

Thanks for the explanation about why his cap hit was 46 million!

Why did you choose ERA and OPS to demonstrate his dominance? Those both have a fair amount of variance. Using xStats and WAR would better demonstrate his value

[Nooguysorryyyy]

That cap hit explanation is blurry at best 😂

[norgenius]

In terms of annual salary NBA players will break 70 mln per year soon.

But having maximum 5 year deals make impossible for them to beat record in absolute values

[HBTSO]

Can you guys do a video on his gambling scandal and how gambling companies are impacting global sports with their infiltration into professional leagues ?

[SoLazy]

That's because Mbappe, Messi etc. don't sign 10 year contracts.