INGLEWOOD, Calif. (AP) 鈥 Shohei Ohtani could have pursued a 15-year contract through age 44, agent Nez Balelo said Thursday, explaining the two-way superstar didn鈥檛 want to risk a decline in his skills while under the big deal.
Balelo pulled back the curtain that shrouds Ohtani a bit when he spoke at Sportico鈥檚 Invest West conference featuring decision-makers in sports, entertainment and finance at the new Intuit Dome, home of the NBA鈥檚 Los Angeles Clippers.
Ohtani鈥檚 $700 million, with the Los Angeles Dodgers that he signed in December 2023 was the largest in professional sports. He won and in his first season after moving from the Los Angeles Angels.
A year later, Juan Soto went even bigger. The left fielder landed a $765 million, 15-year contract with the New York Mets in which none of the money will be deferred.
鈥淲e wouldn鈥檛 do anything different,鈥 Balelo said afterward. 鈥淗e won a championship. He went to the right team. No regrets.鈥
Ohtani鈥檚 deal includes $680 million in deferred payments. Those deferrals reduce the net present value of the contract to about $461 million for baseball鈥檚 luxury-tax system, instead of an average of $70 million a year had there been no deferrals.
Ohtani will be 38 when the contract ends after the 2033 season.
鈥淲e could have went to 13, 14, 15 years,鈥 Balelo said. 鈥淏ut Shohei wanted to always kind of keep the integrity of where he鈥檚 at as a player. He just didn鈥檛 want to have the end of his storybook career tail off and then on year 13, 14 and 15, it鈥檚 just like who is this guy? You can鈥檛 even run down first and he鈥檚 not a guy anymore.鈥
Balelo prefers operating behind the scenes and carefully controlling the narrative around Ohtani. But even he couldn鈥檛 tamp down a cottage industry of rumors about which team would land Ohtani and how much it would cost.
鈥淚t was quite a ride,鈥 he said in a discussion moderated by Ben Verlander, MLB analyst for FOX Sports.
A social media frenzy ensued when it was reported Ohtani was on a plane to 海角社区官网to sign with the Blue Jays.
鈥淲ell, that was reckless reporting. We actually tried to let the individual know, 鈥楴o, we鈥檙e not on a plane,’” Balelo said. 鈥淚 felt bad for the country of Canada. I felt horrible for the organization because clearly they knew we weren鈥檛.鈥
Ohtani鈥檚 goals were to keep his new team competitive by allowing the club money to sign other players and to allow him to win championships and continue to be a two-way player.
鈥淭he Dodgers gave us their word that鈥檚 what they were going to do,鈥 said Balelo, who works for CAA Sports鈥 baseball division.
Ohtani is MLB鈥檚 top endorser, with his earnings jumping from $65 million in 2024 to $100 million this year.
鈥淵eah, absolutely, those are real numbers,鈥 Balelo said. 鈥淚t continues to take on a life of its own.鈥
According to Balelo, Ohtani endorses just over 20 brands that are carefully vetted and chosen based on his use or belief in the product and the people behind it. His priority is his on-the-field performance and the training that goes into it.
鈥淗e takes that very, very serious and everything really becomes secondary other than his family,鈥 Balelo said. 鈥淲e just have to make sure that we don鈥檛 overexpose him or put him in a situation where it鈥檚 too heavy of a lift.鈥
Balelo first spotted the future superstar as a high school junior in Ohtani鈥檚 native Japan and followed him closely as Ohtani鈥檚 pro career began with the Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters.
鈥淭here were some things that that I did differently than I typically would when I recruit,鈥 he said, declining to elaborate when asked afterward.
鈥淚t was definitely a battle, that鈥檚 for sure, but we came out on top and I was very fortunate.鈥
___
AP MLB:
To join the conversation set a first and last name in your user profile.
Sign in or register for free to join the Conversation