Shohei Ohtani could have followed a 15 -year contract to 44 years, agent Nez Balelo said Thursday, explaining that the bidirectional superstar did not want to risk a decrease in his skills under the big problem.
Balelo withdrew the curtain that covers Ohtani a bit when he spoke at the Invest West Conference in Sportico with the decision makers in sports, entertainment and finance in the new dome intuit, home of Los Angeles Clopers of the NBA.
The 10 -year contract of Ohtani, 10 years with the Los Angeles Dodgers signed in December 2023, the largest was in professional sports. He won his third MVP award and the first World Series title in his first season after moving from Los Angeles Angels.
A year later, Juan Soto was bigger. The left gardener got a contract of $ 765 million and 15 years with the New York Mets in which none of the money will be deferred.
“We would do anything different,” Balelo said later. “He won a championship. He went to the right team. He doesn’t regret.”
The Ohtanis agreement includes $ 680 million in deferred payments. These postponements reduce the net present value of the contract to approximately $ 461 million for the baseball luxury tax system, instead of an average of $ 70 million a year if there had been no postponement.
Ohtani will be 38 years old when the contract ends after the 2033 season.
“We could have used 13, 14, 15 years old, but Shohei always wanted children or maintain the integrity of where he is as a player,” said Balelo. “I simply wanted to have the end of its career tail in the storybook and then in the year 13, 14 and 15, is who this guy is? You can’t simply run first and it is no longer a guy.”
Balelo prefers to operate behind the scene and carefully control the narrative around Ohtani, but he could not even express an artisanal industry of rumors about which Wald Wald Ohtanii team and how brat was costing.
“It was a great trip,” he said in a moderate discussion by Ben Veroper, MLB analyst for Fox Sports.
There was a frenzy on social networks when it was reported that Ohtani was on a plane to Toronto to sign with the blue joys.
“Well, that was an reckless report,” said Balelo. “Real we try to let the individual know:” No, we are not on a plane. “I felt bad for the country of Canada.
Ohtani’s objectives were to keep his new competitive team by allowing the club’s money to sign other players and allow him to win championships and continue to be a bidirectional player.
“The Dodgers gave us their word they were going to do,” said Balelo, who works for the Caa Sports Baseball Division. “
Ohtani is the main sponsor of the MLB, with its earnings by jumping from $ 65 million in 2024 to $ 100 million this year.
“Yes, absolutely, those are real numbers,” said Balelo. “It continues to assume a life or yours.”
Ohtani supports approximately 20 brands that are carefully examined and chosen depending on their or belief in the product and people behind it, according to Balelo. His priority is his performance in the field and the training that enters it.
“That is very, very seriously and everything really becomes secondary in addition to his family,” said Balelo. “We just have to make sure that we do not overwhelm or put it in a situation in which it is an elevator too heavy.”
Balelo saw for the first time the future superstar as high school student in Ohtani’s native Japan and followed him closely when Ohtani’s professional career began the Hokkaido Nippon-Ham fighters.
“There were some things that I did of what I would typically do when it recruits,” he said, declining to elaborate when he asked me later. “It was definitely a battle, that’s safe, but we went to the top and I was very lucky.”
Associated Press reports.
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