The Los Angeles Dodgers made Shohei Ohtani the highest-paid player in the history of American sports, but the contract itself was structured to help the team spend even more immediately. There will eventually come time to pay the bill, however, which is when the Dodgers will pay a staggering amount in deferred contract payments.
Los Angeles is far from the first team to embrace the concept of deferred payments. It was made famous by the New York Mets with Bobby Bonilla, with the club paying him more than $1 million per year from a deferred salary in 2000. Before the Dodgers took deferred payments to a new level, the Washington Nationals were the gold standard of MLB clubs kicking payments down the road.
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However, it’s been the Dodgers who took things to another level. Ohtani’s $700 million contract came with a $2 million salary in his 10 seasons as a player, meaning Los Angeles would owe him $68 million annually following his retirement. While Ohtani’s contract does the heavy lifting, he’s not the only player responsible for the highest contract deferments in MLB team history.
As noted by Bob Nightengale of USA Today, the Dodgers have already committed to paying $857 million in contract deferrals from 2033-2044.
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Los Angeles Dodgers deferred contracts
- Shohei Ohtani: $680 million total deferred – $68 million annually from 2034-2043
- Mookie Betts: $120 million deferred – $8M/yr from 2033-’37, $10M/yr from 2038-’39, $11M/yr 2040-’44
- Freddie Freeman: $57 million deferred – $4 million annually from 2028-’35, $5M/yr for 2036-’40
While many MLB fans have objected to deferred contracts, believing it’s unfair to small-market teams, the industry has shown no interest in making changes. Deferred salaries have allowed many teams to push back payments, essentially taking out a loan and paying it back later at a reasonable interest rate from the player.
Many players still choose not to receive deferred salaries, wanting to be paid immediately. However, Ohtani’s contract gives the Dodgers significantly more financial flexibility with money to spend in the next few seasons to make their roster even stronger.
Considering the Dodgers are still in pursuit of Josh Hader and Yoshinobu Yamamoto, two of the top players in MLB free agency, it’s very possible the deferred contract totals climbs even higher. While it might fall short of reaching $1 billion, it could easily eclipse $900 million.
