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Compared to other record contracts in football, baseball, and golf, this one is just massive. As live sports continue to be a popular business for investment and television ratings, it represents the growing extravagant expenditure by wealthy owners, in this instance the Guggenheim-led consortium that controls the Dodgers.

Ohtani’s deal is much larger than previous records in Major League Baseball, which is unusual among US sports in that it does not have a hard salary cap for individual players. These records include the nine-year, $360 million deal that Aaron Judge of the New York Yankees signed this season and the twelve-year, $427 million extension that Mike Trout of the Los Angeles Angels received in 2019.

The deаl is аppаrently vаlued up tо $200 milliоn per аnnum, which is mоre thаn Cristiаnо Rоnаldо’s rumоured twо-yeаr deаl tо jоin аl Nаssr FC оf Sаudi аrаbiа. The winner оf the Mаsters Tоurnаment, Jоhn Rаhm, repоrtedly аgreed tо а $300 milliоn deаl tо jоin Sаudi аrаbiа’s LIV Gоlf tоur this week.

“In a statement shared on my Instagram account Saturday, I made a commitment to always put the Dodgers first and strive to be the best version of myself. I hope this brings joy to all of you, the fans,” Ohtani, 29, wrote. In addition, he extended his gratitude to the Los Angeles Angels’ fan base, which he has served for the last six seasons.

He “structured his contract to reflect a true commitment from both sides to long-term success,” Ohtani’s agent Nez Balelo reported.

Ohtani is generally believed to be a once-in-a-century baseball phenom; he was born in Oshu, Japan. In Major League Baseball, he has won MVP honors twice. He topped all American league players in 2023 with 44 home runs while keeping his earned run average (ERA, which measures the average number of runs scored by opposing batters per nine innings pitched) at only 3.14.

Ohtani made history earlier this summer as the first Major League Baseball player in 60 years to have a perfect game on the mound, striking out 10 batters and hitting two home runs.

At the time, Angels manager Phil Nevin stated, “We are seeing things every day [from Ohtani] that we’ve never seen before.”

The Dodgers last won the World Series in 2020. They have been controlled by a group since 2012, which includes Todd Boehly, owner of Chelsea FC. Before relocating to Los Angeles in 1958, the brand was founded in Brooklyn in 1883.