Shohei Ohtani has the strangest paycheck in professional sports.
He signed a record-breaking $700 million contract with the Los Angeles Dodgers. Yet each year, the team only pays him $2 million in cash. That’s less than some backup players make.
So how does Ohtani stay one of the richest athletes on the planet? The answer has nothing to do with baseball salaries. It has everything to do with endorsements, sponsorships, and his massive popularity in Japan.
According to ESPN insider Jeff Passan, Ohtani now pulls in more than $100 million a year just from advertising deals and business partnerships. Some estimates push that number even higher. This income stream has turned Ohtani into something baseball has never seen before: a global brand wearing a Dodgers uniform.
Here’s how it all works — and why the Dodgers may have landed the greatest business deal in sports history.
Why Ohtani Only Makes $2 Million From the Dodgers
Ohtani’s contract looked massive when he signed it in December 2023. But the fine print told a very different story.
He agreed to defer $680 million of his $700 million contract until after his playing days are over. That means from 2024 through 2033, the Dodgers only pay him $2 million a year. The real money doesn’t start flowing until 2034, when Ohtani will collect $68 million annually through 2043.
Why would a superstar agree to such a strange deal?
Ohtani proposed it himself. By taking less money upfront, he gave the Dodgers more financial room to build a championship-caliber roster around him. Because the money isn’t earning interest, the contract’s real value today is closer to $460 million, not the full $700 million headline number.
Ohtani could afford to make this move because his bank account was never depending on his baseball salary in the first place.
The $100 Million Endorsement Machine
Ohtani isn’t just a baseball star. He’s arguably the most recognizable athlete in Japan and one of the most famous players in Major League Baseball at the same time. That combination has made him irresistible to major brands across nearly every industry.
His growing list of sponsors includes:
- New Balance (which created a signature logo and shoe line just for him)
- Grand Seiko
- Porsche
- Hugo Boss
- Japan Airlines
- KOSÉ
- Ito En
- Beats by Dre
- Fanatics
- Topps
- Salesforce
- Epic Games
- Kirin Holdings
Few athletes in any sport can claim partnerships spanning luxury fashion, airlines, cosmetics, beverages, tech, and trading cards all at once. Ohtani has managed to build a brand that feels universal — likable, marketable, and controversy-free.
Passan estimates Ohtani earns upward of $100 million a year from these deals. Forbes puts the number even higher, at roughly $125 million annually. Either way, his endorsement income dwarfs his Dodgers salary by more than 60 times over.
Historically, this kind of off-field earning power belonged to basketball, soccer, and golf stars — not baseball players. Ohtani has rewritten that rule entirely.
How Ohtani Turned the Dodgers Into a $1 Billion Franchise
Signing Ohtani didn’t just bring the Dodgers a two-way superstar. It opened the door to an entirely new business market: Japan.
Almost overnight, Japanese companies rushed to sponsor the team. Advertisements aimed at Japanese fans appeared throughout Dodger Stadium. Japanese broadcasts of Dodgers games surged. Travel agencies began selling vacation packages built entirely around watching Ohtani play in person.
The numbers back this up. Sponsorship tracking firm SponsorUnited estimated that Ohtani generated roughly $70 million in new sponsorship revenue for the Dodgers in his very first season alone — nearly matching his entire annual contract value before a single ticket or jersey was sold.
That’s before counting:
- Ticket sales driven by his popularity
- Record-setting jersey and merchandise sales
- Trading card demand
- International broadcast rights
- Tourism from Japanese fans flying in just to see him play
The result? The Dodgers became the first MLB franchise ever to top $1 billion in annual revenue. Ohtani didn’t create that number alone — the Dodgers were already a financial powerhouse — but his arrival poured fuel on an already massive fire.
Some insiders have gone as far as joking that the Dodgers aren’t really the Dodgers anymore. They’re essentially operating as an international business built around one player.
The Tourism Boost Nobody Talks About
One of the most overlooked parts of the Ohtani effect is tourism.
Japanese fans aren’t just watching from home. Thousands are flying to Los Angeles to see him play in person. Travel companies now sell dedicated Dodgers baseball packages. Visitors fill hotels, restaurants, and local shops near Dodger Stadium — all indirectly tied to one player’s popularity.
Unlike most stars, whose business impact is limited to their home city, Ohtani effectively gives the Dodgers two home markets: Los Angeles and all of Japan.
Ohtani’s Growing Net Worth
While the Dodgers are cashing in, Ohtani is doing just fine himself.
His estimated net worth has climbed to around $250 million, and remarkably, his massive Dodgers contract isn’t even the main reason why. Endorsement income has been the true engine behind his wealth so far.
Looking ahead, Ohtani could add several hundred million more dollars in endorsement earnings before his playing contract even wraps up in 2033. Then, starting in 2034, the deferred $68 million annual checks begin rolling in — for a full decade.
In short, Ohtani’s fortune is really just getting started.
Is This the Greatest Contract in Sports History?
Most people look at Ohtani’s $700 million deal purely from his side: guaranteed money, deferred payments, and a decade of $68 million checks still to come.
But the Dodgers may have gotten the better end of the bargain.
For a $2 million annual salary, they landed:
- A generational two-way baseball talent
- Instant championship contention
- A brand-new, highly lucrative Japanese market
- Tens of millions in new sponsorship money
- The title of MLB’s first-ever $1 billion franchise
Meanwhile, Ohtani isn’t losing any sleep over his modest Dodgers paycheck. Between endorsements, sponsorships, and global brand deals, he’s already earning far more away from the diamond than on it.
Right now, business is booming for everyone involved.
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