Key Facts
The tickets for the Los Angeles Dodgers’ home opener have more than doubled on the secondary market less than a week after Japanese star Shohei Ohtani signed a $700 million contract with the team, making the team’s home opener the most expensive in franchise history.
Main Background
Ohtani, who has won the Japanese Professional Baseball Organization’s MVP award five times, joined Major League Baseball (MLB) in 2018 after signing a massive contract with the Los Angeles Angels, then extended his contract in 2021 for an additional two years worth $8.5 million. Ohtani won the season MVP award in 2021 by a unanimous vote, hitting 46 home runs as a player and achieving a pitching average of 3.18. Ohtani signed a one-year contract extension worth $30 million before the start of the 2023 season, a year in which he won the MVP award for the second consecutive time by unanimous vote. Despite Ohtani’s presence on the team, the Los Angeles Angels did not qualify for the playoffs during Ohtani’s six-year tenure with the team. With the Angels’ disappointing season coming to an end, rumors emerged that the Japanese star might sign a massive contract with another team worth hundreds of millions of dollars. The $700 million contract he signed this week is the largest ever in terms of total value for any professional athlete in any American team sport, surpassing former teammate Mike Trout’s $426.5 million deal and Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes’ $450 million four-dimensional contract.
The Big Number
$680 million. This is the amount that will be deferred from Ohtani’s 10-year contract until 2034, which is the largest contract deferral in professional sports history. Under this contract, Ohtani will only receive $2 million per year out of his $70 million salary over the 10 years of his contract. From 2034 to 2043, Ohtani will be paid $68 million annually by the Los Angeles Dodgers.
Side Note
Ohtani is not the only athlete driving ticket prices up. Soccer legend Lionel Messi’s decision in June to leave Paris Saint-Germain and join Inter Miami has caused ticket prices for Miami’s first games with Messi at the new MLS club to skyrocket by 1000%. The cheapest tickets for Messi’s first game with Miami rose from $29 to $459 after Messi announced he would sign with the Inter Miami owned by David Beckham, according to TickPick.
Further Reading
With his $700 million deal, Shohei Ohtani is set to become MLB’s all-time earnings leader
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