Sho Him the Money!

Shohei Ohtani’s $700 million contract makes him the highest paid baseball player and athlete.

Global superstar Shohei Ohtani didn’t necessarily shock the baseball world when he announced that he had selected the Los Angeles Dodgers to be his next team. The Dodgers had been a favorite to sign him for the entire offseason, and despite the Toronto Blue Jays, San Francisco Giants, and even the Chicago Cubs being considered as finalists for Ohtani, the Dodgers ended up getting him. That much was not a surprise.

What was a surprise was his contract.

Ohtani is signing a 10-year contract worth up to an unbelievable and unprecedented $700M. His expected average annual salary per season of $70M is the most in North American sports history, surpassing Damian Lillard of the NBA’s Milwaukee Bucks in that category. If we’re talking about Major League Baseball, his total contract value of $700M is the largest total in MLB history, surpassing his former teammate and perennial All-Star Mike Trout, who signed a 12-year deal worth $426M in 2019 with the Los Angeles Angels.

For those who don’t know about the prowess of Shohei Ohtani, he pitches at an All-Star level, and he hits at an All-Star level as well. He’s the reigning American League MVP, a three-time All-Star, and a two-time member of the All-MLB First-Team. As a hitter, he led the American League in home runs last season, and led the American League in triples in 2021. And as a pitcher, he achieved a 9-2 record with a 3.18 earned run average (ERA) in 2021, a 15-9 record with a 2.33 ERA in 2022, and a 10-5 record with a 3.14 ERA last season. So basically, he’s really good.

He’s joining a Dodgers team that won 100 games last season, winning the National League West division by a landslide. He joins future Hall-of-Famers Mookie Betts and Freddie Freeman in trying to get over the World Series hump that has taunted them since they won a championship in the shortened 2020 COVID season. They hope that this big-money acquisition will put them one step closer to raising another championship banner in Los Angeles.

By Jermale Dabney, Junior, Lindblom Math and Science Academy

Instagram: @jermale_d

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