Record Breaking Deal

By: Vasilios Dzelves, Sports Reporter 

Last month, Shohei Ohtani and the Los Angeles Dodgers came to a $700 million, 10 year agreement. This is the largest contract in North American sports history. 

Ohtani is a unique player because of his versatility. He plays as a pitcher and a designated hitter. He was fourth in home runs in Major League Baseball last season, having 44 home runs.

There is a stipulation however. Ohtani agreed to defer $680 million of the contract, meaning that he would be paid only two million dollars for the next 10 years. 

With his previous team, Los Angeles Angels, he made a total of over $42 million dollars over six seasons. Once his new contract is over he will make about 16 times more than what he made with the Angels.

Some WJPS students share their thoughts on the influence this contract will have on future sports deals.

WJPS 12th grader Alejandro Ortiz said, “It will undoubtedly inflate contracts for years to come. It’ll get to the point where we have a one billion dollar player.”

WJPS 12th grader Nathaniel Granger said, “I think this contract will influence future sports contracts by incentivising higher bids.”

“Shohei Ohtani and Ippei Mizuhara (48035187472)” by Moto ‘Club4AG’ Miwa from USA is licensed under CC BY 2.0.