Why Ohtani chose 10 years – not 15 – for his historic Dodgers deal

Shohei Ohtani had a record contract when he signed with the Los Angeles Dodgers in December 2023. The Japanese player agreed to a 10-year, $700 million deal, but his agent has revealed that his deal with the Los Angeles Dodgers could have been for up to 15 seasons.

What was Ohtani’s Dodgers contract?

Shohei Ohtani signed a historic $700 million contract with the Los Angeles Dodgers in December 2023, but his agent has now revealed the deal could have extended to as many as 15 seasons.

Nez Balelo, Ohtani’s longtime representative, said during a Sportico conference that the Japanese star might have tied himself to the Dodgers until the age of 44. Still, he believes they made the right call – both in choosing the team and in the outcome.

“We wouldn’t have done anything differently. He won a championship, joined the right team, no regrets,” Balelo said. “We could’ve gone for 13, 14, 15 years, but Shohei always tried to preserve the integrity of where he is as a player. He didn’t want to end his career with people questioning him, saying he couldn’t run to first or that he wasn’t himself anymore.”

Ohtani’s contract includes $680 million in deferred payments in order to minimize the financial impact on the Dodgers’ payroll. That element proved essential, said Balelo, who admitted he hadn’t initially considered deferrals. But with the Dodgers having a precedent for structuring deals this way, the arrangement ultimately made sense.

Ohtani was determined to shape the story

Throughout his free agency, speculation about Ohtani’s destination was tightly controlled. At one point, there were rumors he had nearly signed with the Toronto Blue Jays – something Balelo firmly denies. He said they were intentional in keeping everything under wraps to prevent misinformation and inflated figures from dominating the conversation.

“We kept it under the radar – that was the plan, to control the narrative,” he explained. “We didn’t want media rumors flying everywhere with inaccurate numbers. It was very deliberate, and we didn’t let it happen. We kept it quiet.”

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