Shohei Ohtani’s $700 million contract with the Dodgers isn’t just the biggest in sports history.
It’s bigger than the Gross National Income of 12 countries in 2020, according to World Population Review. Even Ohtani’s annual average of $70 million over 10 years is bigger than the GNI of Montserrat.
Yes, history was made Saturday when Ohtani’s free-agency pursuit went from shrouded in mystery to exploding into worldwide news when he picked the Dodgers over the Angels and Blue Jays.
Here are four lens through which you can try to digest Ohtani’s contract, which is rich enough allow him to buy the private island in the Bahamas used in filming “Pirates of the Caribbean” and have $550 million left over to bank:
1. The Dodgers drastically overpaid for Pitching Ohtani.
Mookie Betts, Aaron Judge, Manny Machado, Francisco Lindor, Fernando Tatis Jr., Bryce Harper, Giancarlo Stanton and Corey Seager — eight perennial All-Star hitters (or seven and Stanton) — have contracts with total values between $325 million and $365 million.
Sliding the two-time MVP Ohtani and his .964 OPS over the past three seasons into that range means the Dodgers paid between an additional $335 million and $375 million for his arm. Even if you want to concede that Hitting Ohtani’s price tag should exceed that of Judge and Betts on the high end — ignoring that he is a designated hitter and the other two are plus defenders — then perhaps his hitting contract nears $400 million, leaving about $300 million earmarked for Pitching Ohtani.
There is only one $300-plus million pitcher: The Yankees’ Gerrit Cole, who leads MLB in wins (51), innings (664) and strikeouts (816) over the past four seasons.
The next biggest total-value pitching deals belong to Stephen Strasburg ($245 million) and Jacob deGrom ($185 million) — both of whom accomplished more on the mound than Ohtani has, and both of whom have names that sound alarms.
Whereas Ohtani’s power and on-base percentage suggest he might be a top-three hitter in MLB, Ohtani (34-16, 2.84 ERA over the past three seasons) is not the second- or third-best pitcher in MLB because he hasn’t stayed healthy enough to take the ball every fifth day. He is more Mike Trout ($426.5 million) in his prime than Cole in his.
Ohtani will not pitch this season after undergoing the second Tommy John surgery of his career, and the unknowns of recovery are a huge risk accepted by the Dodgers. Strasburg’s contract became a disaster because of injuries (31 1/3 innings since signing after the 2019 season). DeGrom’s could be on its way there as he recovers from a second Tommy John surgery.
Simply put, Ohtani never would have received $300 million — maybe slightly more than half of that is realistic — if he were just a dominant but injury-plagued pitcher. So why the extra $150 million?
2. Ohtani’s off-field value is transcendent.
The cheapest seat for Opening Day at Dodger Stadium is now $368 on StubHub. Take away the allure of Opening Day and the “get-in” price for the ho-hum third game of the season is $156. That means more ticket, parking, concessions and merchandise revenue for the Dodgers.
What about beyond the traditional forms? Ohtani is a revenue stream for the Dodgers.
“If Ohtani is marketed right,” Emory University marketing professor Mike Lewis told the Associated Press, “he’s a globally iconic player.”
Japan-based companies that paid for premium ad space around Angel Stadium could move their business across town. He graces the cover of non-sports magazines such as GQ and Time. He brings with him individual sponsorship deals with more than a dozen major brands.
NHK broadcast all Angels games live (usually before 5 a.m.) in baseball-crazed Japan last year, but stopped in September when Ohtani was injured. You can imagine those broadcasts will switch to the Dodgers.
The Los Angeles Times reported the Angels earned $10 million to $20 million per year in Ohtani-related marketing revenue and that one high-ranking MLB executive estimated the Dodgers could more than double that amount because of their more-established brand power.
“It’ll pay for itself within six or seven years,” an MLB evaluator told The Athletic. “He’s literally just a money factory. Even just on advertising alone.”
3. Should we rethink ridiculing the Mets for “Bobby Bonilla Day” in light of Ohtani’s deferred money?
It’s become trendy to laugh at the Mets for paying $1.19 million to Bonilla — who last played for the Mets in 1999, two years before he retired — every July 1 from 2011 through 2035. It’s the result of an agreement reached that instead of paying a one-time $5.9 million buyout to release Bonilla, the Mets would pay him what will wind up as approximately $30 million over 25 years, until he is 72 years old.
Two decades later, the Dodgers are being celebrated for deferring a large chunk of Ohtani’s contract because they can invest money not spent and make a greater return. In fact, some are calling the deferred money a cheat code for working around the luxury-tax thresholds that are supposed to balance out MLB’s haves and have-nots.
Quite the opposite of the reaction to the Bonilla situation (when there was no luxury tax).
The Post’s Joel Sherman reported Ohtani insisted on deferring much of his salary so his $70 million per year figure is decreased to $40 million to $50 million for luxury-tax purposes, allowing the Dodgers more breathing room with cash flow and creating the maneuverability to add other players in pursuit of a World Series.
Ohtani ultimately will get his $700 million. But inflation assures that what he can buy for it in five, 10 or 20 years is less than what he can buy for it today.
What we don’t know yet is the key to an Ohtani-Bonilla comparison: How much of Ohtani’s money was deferred and over how long? What would the total contract have been if structured without any deferred money? Will he live up to the contract by producing more than Bonilla ever did before he was paid to go away?
Maybe this creative accounting is just a loophole that smart organizations need to capitalize on today. Here’s to decades of celebrating Shohei Ohtani Day well into his retirement.
4. What are the ripple effects?
Credit the Yankees for the foresight to finish the Juan Soto trade before losers in the Ohtani sweepstakes — namely, the rival Blue Jays — could pivot to Soto.
But the list of suitors for top pitching free agent Yoshinobu Yamamoto might have just increased because there are franchises — the Giants and Cubs, for example — with money to burn that was being saved to offer to Ohtani. After missing out on Judge and Carlos Correa last year and now Ohtani, how long until the Giants just wildly overpay someone to say yes?
And, per The Post’s Jon Heyman, the Dodgers remain in the mix for Yamamoto after landing Ohtani.
As fans, once you’ve seen a $700 million contract, will the sticker shock on a potential $300 million deal for Yamamoto even resonate? And that trickles down. What’s $200 million for Cody Bellinger? Or $150 million for Jordan Montgomery? A relative drop in the bucket.
Now, please excuse me while I go teach my sons to both pitch and hit.
Today’s back page
Zach attack (but not back)
There’s a belief in MLB that you shouldn’t be fooled by the things that teams do in March and September. The different motivations of various teams and the different configuration of lineups at those times of year can play tricks on your eyes.
The same thing applies to December in the NFL.
So, while it was a feel-good story when the Jets’ Zach Wilson had the best game of his agonizing three-year career on Sunday — all condensed into the second half — in a 30-6 win that could spoil the Texans’ playoff hopes, don’t be fooled.
Wilson still cannot be the Jets’ backup quarterback next season. Not even if he repeats his 301-yard, two-touchdown performance four more times to close out the regular season.
Let Sunday’s game and any others drive up the value of the return in an offseason trade.
Let someone else place the bet that he has turned a corner.
What was cool about the game, however, was how genuinely happy Wilson’s teammates seemed for him.
You can’t say that would have been the case last year, when Wilson became locker-room poison after infamously saying the offense did not let down the defense in a season-changing 10-3 loss to the Patriots. He later apologized to the locker room.
There was a chance that could have happened again Sunday — the first game after The Athletic reported Wilson, during his two-game benching, told people inside the building that he was reluctant to play again this season for fear of getting hurt.
If teammates really felt Wilson didn’t want to be out there with them and was looking forward to his future on another team — or if his play said it for him — there was plenty of opportunity for in-fighting or quitting during a scoreless first half.
But because — for the first time in a long time — there was no reason to think Wilson might get benched, the Jets rallied around a quarterback who played with nothing to lose.
“I couldn’t be happier for him,” tight end Tyler Conklin said. “He said he was going to come out there and have fun and just enjoy playing football, and I feel like he did that.”
“You can just tell he was playing for the man next to him — he was playing for his brothers,” cornerback Sauce Gardner said. “I already had respect for him, but that’s even more for him to be able to do that.”
“Zach went crazy today,” receiver Garrett Wilson said. “It was great to see him just hoop.”
Wilson earned a slice of vindication in his return to starting.
A cool moment. But still a farewell moment.
Tommy’s team, Tommy’s time
Two out of three playoff-race factors broke in the Giants’ favor Sunday, when the Rams and Seahawks each lost to drop their records to 6-7.
The missing ingredient to a perfect day off would have been a loss for the Vikings, who prevailed, 3-0, against the Raiders on a field goal with two minutes remaining in the fourth quarter.
If they do their part Monday night and beat the Packers (6-6), the Giants (4-8) will be one game out of the final playoff spot in the NFC (before complicated tiebreakers are factored in). If the Vikings had won, the Giants would have been one game out of the final two spots.
The Falcons (6-7) and Saints (6-7) also are in the crowded wild-card mix — they are the odd teams out of a three-team tie atop the NFC South that currently belongs to the Buccaneers (6-7) — as are the Bears (5-8).
That’s a lot of no-margin-of-error pressure on the shoulders of Cinderella quarterback Tommy DeVito, but he was unfazed playing in front of the home crowd against rookie tormentor Bill Belichick in a pre-bye-week win against the Patriots, so why should that change now?
DeVito carried himself like a pro this week in the days after he was named the starter over 13-year veteran Tyrod Taylor, who was returning from a four-week injury absence.
“Same old Tommy,” running back Saquon Barkley said. “I mean, I don’t see anything different. No matter what — if he wasn’t named the starter or he was — I think he should continue to have that confidence, have that mindset of ‘F’ it and go out there and ball. You’re an undrafted kid from New Jersey living the dream. Go out there, have fun and you have everyone’s support. Let’s go do this thing together.”
The key to DeVito’s success is simple: He hasn’t thrown an interception in back-to-back victories.
“Our thing for a quarterback is make good decisions and lead the team down to score points,” quarterbacks coach Shea Tierney said. “He’s done a good job of those two things. … He does a great job of learning from a new thing he might see.”
The Giants have been outscored, 108-24, in four primetime games this season, but none of that baggage is DeVito’s.
“It’s just like any other game except on a Monday night, right?” DeVito said. “Yeah, it’s an awesome opportunity to be the only game on and just enjoy and go play football.”
These guys again?
The year is 2029, and the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame is inducting arguably the greatest NBA player of all time.
LeBron James is introduced as the leading scorer in the history of the league, a 20-something-time All-Star, a four-time MVP, a four-time NBA Finals winner and … the inaugural NBA Cup MVP. Which of these things does not belong?
Anything that was new and cool about the first-year NBA Cup was erased Saturday when the Lakers won the inaugural in-season tournament. “Showtime” felt more like a rerun.
Had the tournament semifinalists Pacers or Pelicans won, there would have been a worthy argument for either franchise to celebrate and hang its first-ever championship banner. Even the Bucks have plenty of room in the rafters with two just NBA Finals wins.
But what a letdown to think that this confusing scheduling format and those flashy courts were created so the league could crown the Lakers and James one more time.
Maybe MLB, the NHL and the NFL can follow the NBA’s lead and create in-season tournaments as a way to draw more recognition to the vastly underappreciated Yankees, Canadiens and Patriots.
There was no better way for the NBA Cup to be washed into irrelevance than for it to be a footnote on James’ résumé and in the history of the 17-time NBA champion Lakers.
“This franchise does not hang division banners. It does not hang conference championships,” the late Kobe Bryant once said. “We hang one banner and one banner only — and that’s NBA titles. So, you have to start there and understand that. That’s what this is. … It’s the City of Champions for a reason.”
So, what is the NBA Cup? Is it an “NBA title?” Or is it a glorified regular-season game?
One report says the Lakers will not hang a banner. One says they remain undecided.
On second thought, maybe they are the perfect team to define what we should think of it moving forward.
What we’re reading 👀
🏒 Jonathan Quick made 25 saves against his former team as the Rangers got back in the win column with a 4-1 decision over the Kings at the Garden.
🏀 St. John’s (6-3) was let down by its defense in a 86-80 loss to Boston College, described by The Post’s Zach Braziller as “a résumé-denting contest to a team picked to finish 12th in the ACC.”
🏀 Do the Knicks have a real Mitchell Robinson concern?
🏈 Frank Wycheck, former Titans tight end and hero of the Music City Miracle, was found dead at his home. He was 52.
🏈 Kadarius Toney spoiled it for the Chiefs.
🏈 Dak Prescott (Shohei money incoming?) and the Cowboys smashed the Eagles to join the tie atop the NFL standings at 10-3.
🏀 Bronny James made his debut for USC, less than five months after a cardiac-arrest episode. He recorded four points and one familiar chasedown block in 16 minutes.
🏀 The Indiana Fever won the 2024 WNBA draft lottery, also known as: Caitlin Clark, Please Come Play for Us.
⚽ Columbus Crew are MLS champions.
🥊 A star-making performance for American junior welterweight Devin Haney.
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