Shohei Ohtani has found three unique ways to make finance-related news in the past four months. First, he signed a record-shattering contract that sent shockwaves throughout the sports world. Then, he found himself embroiled in a gambling scandal that grows more complicated by the day. And now he's in the crosshairs of California lawmakers.
Shohei Ohtani signed a 10-year, $700 million free-agent contract with the Los Angeles Dodgers in December, the largest contract in sports history. Ohtani will not receive $70 million a year, however. Ohtani and the Dodgers agreed to defer all but $68 million of his $70 million annual salary — a staggering total of $680 million — until the completion of the contract.
The unprecedented deferrals dropped the annual average value of Ohtani's contract to $46 million, helping the club's payroll by lowering his competitive balance tax hit.
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