Ohtani Watch: Dodgers sign - 700M over 10yrs

[Look at Ray Ray Run]

1 minute ago, Rey21 said:

Both sides would have to agree to a floor and a cap and they never will 

I think things can often change in a hurry, but as of today I agree with you and it will be the death of MLB as a main sport (and if I'm being honest, that grasp has weakened quite a bit in my lifetime already due to access and horrible horrible horrible marketing/leadership by MLB).

One horrendous decision after the next - no highlights on social media, no videos on youtube, all rights reserved... blackouts everywhere, terrible cable deals causing fans in markets the inability to watch the game.

I love baseball, but you just can't have a sport where teams are spending more on one players than some teams are spending on their entire team.

 

[Look at Ray Ray Run]

4 minutes ago, TaylorStSox said:

"In a vacuum" is pretty obvious. It means that as a baseball contract, it's terrible as his production will never match the dollar amount, champ.

 

Who the f*** calls people "champ?"

Again, production and value is not defined universally across all contracts which is why this is meaningless.

Relax, sport.

[Vote4Pedro]

4 minutes ago, TaylorStSox said:

"In a vacuum" is pretty obvious. It means that as a baseball contract, it's terrible as his production will never match the dollar amount, champ.

 

Who the f*** calls people "champ?"

Nah but the be fair most of these massive contracts don’t live up to the play on the field. Unfortunately though in order to be competitive you have to fork over that kind of money from time to time unless you are a team like the Rays who just pull prospects out of their ass year in and year out 

[The Grinder]

I wonder how much longer until we get a Billion dollar contract in sports?

[caulfield12]

8 minutes ago, bmags said:

I still think the Mets total salary commitment last year will end up much more of an egregious outlier than what the dodgers are likely to trot out this year. The luxury tax has proven pretty harsh and teams keep swerving under.

(I’d prefer a salary cap in baseball. Sorry to players but it makes free agency much more fun.)

Mets and Padres falling back.  Red Sox seem to be stuck in neutral.  Giants in on nearly every FA but have still never signed a huge name all this time.  Cubs are in transition.  Angels are closer to rebuilding.

Other than LAD...not seeing where all the big time spending will actually come from.  Toronto now?  STL sort of?

Braves are clearly best positioned as a franchise to counter LA at this point but have never been a massive spending team since the Ted Turner days.

And roughly half of MLB reckoning with not insignificant RSN losses.

Edited December 9, 2023 by caulfield12

[TheFutureIsNear]

Would love to see the details of the deferred $. Ohtani is going to be getting checks for $5M a year until he’s 65. 

[Look at Ray Ray Run]

7 minutes ago, bmags said:

I still think the Mets total salary commitment last year will end up much more of an egregious outlier than what the dodgers are likely to trot out this year. The luxury tax has proven pretty harsh and teams keep swerving under.

(I’d prefer a salary cap in baseball. Sorry to players but it makes free agency much more fun.)

Agreed, and truthfully the issue isn't really at the top. I think most teams could spend between 150-200 million. I would like the gap to be a little smaller, but in that space it's a competitive game.

The problem with no cap is you get no floor, and with no floor you allow for anti-competitive behavior.

As I laid out a year or two ago, the lack of a cap is actually killing players now. It's creating this situation where very few get paid, but the overall distribution of revenues to salaries is lower than the other two major sports. The players would actually get MORE money if they agreed to a cap, because it would also force transparency from ownership and would force spending. The middle and bottom would be brought up, but the top would come down a bit. Baseball players are shooting themselves in the foot so that the top 3% of the league can make as much as possible. Truly America's Game lol

[Look at Ray Ray Run]

1 minute ago, TheFutureIsNear said:

Would love to see the details of the deferred $. Ohtani is going to be getting checks for $5M a year until he’s 65. 

150+ million deferred for 25 years would mean a 10 year 580 offer would be nearly as competitive.

[South Side Hit Men]

1 minute ago, Look at Ray Ray Run said:

All that said, if baseball does not institute some form of revenue sharing/soft cap and hard floor, the sport is going to die much more quickly than even most pessimists thought.

The parity between a team like the Dodgers and the Pirates getting even more vast will be the death of the league. 

I agree there should be a floor (MLB shared revenue), but there is more parity today than there was back when Americans in general actually cared about the sport. 

Connie Mack’s Athletics we’re basically the Yankees feeder system. Yankees dominated MLB for decades. They haven’t won since George died.

The Dodgers have had the top MLB payroll most seasons after McCourt was forced out by Bud Selig. They have won a single World Series, that during the sham 2020 60 game owner lockout year, over the decade plus.

The disparity is primarily the fault of letting a half dozen owners maximize profit by fielding minor league guys wearing MLB laundry, and pocketing $50M + each season for merely existing.

[TaylorStSox]

8 minutes ago, Look at Ray Ray Run said:

Again, production and value is not defined universally across all contracts which is why this is meaningless.

Relax, sport.

Duh, hence the term "in a vacuum." Follow along, Wes from Winnetka.

This thread was going so well too. Nobody was insulting each other.

[caulfield12]

3 minutes ago, Look at Ray Ray Run said:

Agreed, and truthfully the issue isn't really at the top. I think most teams could spend between 150-200 million. I would like the gap to be a little smaller, but in that space it's a competitive game.

The problem with no cap is you get no floor, and with no floor you allow for anti-competitive behavior.

As I laid out a year or two ago, the lack of a cap is actually killing players now. It's creating this situation where very few get paid, but the overall distribution of revenues to salaries is lower than the other two major sports. The players would actually get MORE money if they agreed to a cap, because it would also force transparency from ownership and would force spending. The middle and bottom would be brought up, but the top would come down a bit. Baseball players are shooting themselves in the foot so that the top 3% of the league can make as much as possible. Truly America's Game lol

You would think the MLBPA would have closely studied the economic impact on those 29-36 year old veterans and how much less they're making than 15 or so years ago with the focus on youngsters in Years 1-4.

And how the average MLB career is at least 2-3 years shorter than the steroids era.

[TaylorStSox]

26 year old, healthy Ohtani might be worth this contract, but 29 year old Ohtani coming off his second Tommy John is batshit crazy.

[Look at Ray Ray Run]

Just now, South Side Hit Men said:

I agree there should be a floor (MLB shared revenue), but there is more parity today than there was back when Americans in general actually cared about the sport. 

Connie Mack’s Athletics we’re basically the Yankees feeder system. Yankees dominated MLB for decades. They haven’t won since George died.

The Dodgers have had the top MLB payroll most seasons after McCourt was forced out by Bud Selig. They have won a single World Series, that during the sham 2020 60 game owner lockout year, over the decade plus.

The disparity is primarily the fault of letting a half dozen owners maximize profit by fielding minor league guys wearing MLB laundry, and pocketing $50M + each season for merely existing.

Absolutely but baseball was also the primary sport in town, and the competition was very limited.

Baseball is deemed as a slower game to the modern era already - with less athletic opportunities - and making it so that only certain markets can acquire or maintain good/exciting players will eventually cause disinterest in the anti-competitive markets.

This also isn't about just winning a World Series. The Dodgers have won the West every year but one since 2012. People always point to the Rays as an example/beacon for not spending; they've never won a World Series. They are held up because they can compete and keep fans engaged year-end and year out. That's what money is doing, it's buying engagement and exciting players. People for KIDS to be drawn to and try to be like.

[caulfield12]

12 minutes ago, South Side Hit Men said:

I agree there should be a floor (MLB shared revenue), but there is more parity today than there was back when Americans in general actually cared about the sport. 

Connie Mack’s Athletics we’re basically the Yankees feeder system. Yankees dominated MLB for decades. They haven’t won since George died.

The Dodgers have had the top MLB payroll most seasons after McCourt was forced out by Bud Selig. They have won a single World Series, that during the sham 2020 60 game owner lockout year, over the decade plus.

The disparity is primarily the fault of letting a half dozen owners maximize profit by fielding minor league guys wearing MLB laundry, and pocketing $50M + each season for merely existing.

Pirates Royals A's Tigers (Brewers might totally rebuild but look at Chourio deal)

Dumb/non-strategic spending...Sox Rockies

 

Reds have dramatically changed their fortunes in the last year.  Same with AZ.  Orioles obviously.   Marlins made the postseason despite being a "troubled" franchise.

Would vague 6-8 teams now instead of 12...unless you want to count Guardians or Twins.

 

The problem has always been holding onto players after Years 6-7.

Otoh...Elly De La Cruz, Corbin Carroll, O'Neil Cruz...some of the more exciting youngsters the last two years and none from large market teams.

Edited December 9, 2023 by caulfield12

[Jerry McNertney]

It's crazy.

[WestEddy]

2 hours ago, TaylorStSox said:

How many jerseys do you need to sell to recoup $700M for a 29 year old coming off his second Tommy John surgery?

25 years after their last title, the Bulls are still the 3rd most popular NBA brand in Europe, and it's not because of Elton Brand. 

[Look at Ray Ray Run]

7 minutes ago, TaylorStSox said:

Duh, hence the term "in a vacuum." Follow along, Wes from Winnetka.

This thread was going so well too. Nobody was insulting each other.

I insulted you? Try to leave your feelings at the door before entering an online forum, kiddo.

Shoehei generates revenue in ways MOST every other MLB player does not; hence why viewing anything like this in a "vaccum" is entirely meaningless. One of the biggest challenge baseball has in the USA is the marketability of it's stars; people just don't know star players because MLB does a horrible job marketing them and it's become a regional game.

Shohei is a global brand who is an entire brand on his own in Japan. You are obtaining an entire market by acquiring Ohtani which is really valuable to a brand like the Dodgers who could greatly benefit from further expanding their global reach.

This wasn't how much WAR will Ohtani give me --- that was probably about 60% of the equation. For most players, it's about 95-99% of the equation.

Ohtani is also the first two way player in 100 years - comparing him to anyone else, again, in a vacuum just makes zero sense.

[caulfield12]

"I pledge to always do what's best for the team and always continue to give it my all to be the best version of myself. Until the last day of my playing career, I want to continue to strive forward not only for the Dodgers but for the baseball world," Ohtani wrote.

"The contract is the largest in baseball history by more than $250 million, topping the 12-year, $426.5 million deal that now-former teammate Mike Trout signed in 2019. The $70 million average annual salary also easily eclipses the previous record of $43.3 million for Justin Verlander and Max Scherzer and is more than the 2023 Opening Day payrolls of the Baltimore Orioles ($60.9 million) and the Oakland Athletics ($56.9 million).

The deal does not include any opt-outs, a source told ESPN. Another source said "the majority" of Ohtani's salary will be deferred in order to mitigate what the Dodgers are charged toward their competitive balance tax payroll on a yearly basis, giving them more freedom to add to their payroll over the life of Ohtani's contract. The deferrals, according to the source, were Ohtani's idea."

ESPN.com

Edited December 9, 2023 by caulfield12

[Look at Ray Ray Run]

Another source said "the majority" of Ohtani's salary will be deferred in order to mitigate what the Dodgers are charged toward their competitive balance tax payroll on a yearly basis

This sounds an awful more like a current-value 10 year 550 million type deal the more and more I read about it. 700 sounds big though, and it is, but it sure is a lot less 25 years from now (still a ton though!).

Edited December 9, 2023 by Look at Ray Ray Run

[Soxfest]

Dodgers were the favorite from day 1……..contract is 🥜 

Edited December 9, 2023 by Soxfest

[Quin]

Is this the hardest flex on a cross"town" rival ever?

Dear god

 

[Big Hurtin]

[caulfield12]

https://sports.yahoo.com/how-does-shohei-ohtanis-reported-700-million-contract-stack-up-to-richest-deals-in-nfl-nba-nhl-mlb-202218657.html

[Big Hurtin]

 

[baseball_gal_aly]