After an aggressive negotiation, reigning American League MVP Shohei Ohtani has agreed to terms with the Dodgers on a record-breaking 10-year, $700 million deal, according to his agent, Nez Balelo. The team officially announced the deal on Monday night.
“To all Dodgers fans, I pledge to always do what’s best for the team and always continue to give it my all to be the best version of myself,” Ohtani wrote in an Instagram post on Saturday. “Until the last day of my playing career, I want to continue to strive forward not only for the Dodgers but for the baseball world.”
“This is a unique, historic contract for a unique, historic player,” Balelo said in a statement. “Shohei is thrilled to be a part of the Dodgers organization. He is excited to begin this partnership, and he structured his contract to reflect a true commitment from both sides to long-term success. Shohei and I want to thank all the organizations that reached out to us for their interest and respect, especially the wonderful people we got to know even better as this process unfolded.
“We know fans, media and the entire industry had a high degree of interest in this process, and we want to express our appreciation for their passion and their consideration as it played out.”
The 29-year-old’s contract is said to be the largest contract in worldwide sports history, surpassing soccer superstar Lionel Messi’s $674 million deal with FC Barcelona from 2017-21. (It also surpasses the roughly $679 million Kylian Mbappé would earn if he opts to stay with PSG through 2025.)
In terms of the history of American professional sports, it surpasses Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes’ 10-year, $450 million extension; in baseball, it exceeds former teammate Mike Trout, who agreed to a 12-year, $426.5 million extension with the California Angels back in 2019.
As for free-agent deals, this is the largest by dollar amount in MLB history by $340 million, surpassing Aaron Judge’s nine-year, $360 million contract inked ahead of the 2023 season. It also breaks the record for average annual value for an MLB contract, previously set by Max Scherzer at $43.3 million with the Mets ahead of the 2022 season, then tied by Justin Verlander with the Mets a year later.
Ohtani, who will turn 30 on July 5, is locked up through 2033, which will be his age-39 season. A two-time unanimous MVP, three-time All-Star, two-time Silver Slugger and the 2018 AL Rookie of the Year, Ohtani has been far and away the most impressive two-way player in MLB history.
Source link
