Shohei Ohtani’s 10-year, $700 million contract with the Dodgers was announced in mid-December, shocking the baseball community. It was the biggest contract ever reached in the history of professional sports.
The announcement of the deal has only increased Ohtani’s already high level of popularity. The current AL MVP is without a doubt the hottest name in MLB right now thanks to his numerous corporate endorsements.
The Los Angeles Dodgers have revealed the 2024 bobblehead date for Shohei Ohtani in an attempt to keep the Japanese star’s name at the forefront of fans’ minds. Ohtani will get two of these opportunities next season, though, unlike most athletes.
The first 40,000 ticketed fans through Dodger Stadium gates on May 16, when the Dodgers meet the Cincinnati Reds, will receive a free Ohtani bobblehead. The same number of supporters will get the opportunity to enjoy a second bobblehead night on August 28 when it occurs during a game versus the Baltimore Orioles.
Throughout the season, other prominent team members, including Yoshibobu Yamamoto, Mookie Betts, and Freddie Freeman, will each have a promotional bobblehead night. But the other players will each only get one night, unlike Ohtani.
About $680 million of the $700 total will be postponed until Ohtani fulfills his contractual responsibilities with the Dodgers in 2034, under the rules of his deal with the franchise.
The majority of the amount will thereafter be disbursed gradually. It implies that Ohtani will forfeit $28 million in salary in comparison to the 2023 season, even if he inked the largest deal ever.
The influence that Shohei Ohtani has on Dodgers supporters might be extraordinary
Ohtani is the most important off-season acquisition for his team, despite not being the only one.
Ohtani and his new squad will start a ten-year romance on opening day. The team might as well get fans acclimated to seeing Ohtani because there’s no telling what heights he and the squad will reach before 2034.
It remains to be seen if Shohei Ohtani will return to form as the Dodgers’ MVP. But there’s little doubt about where and when fans may get their hands on a bobblehead with the superstar’s visage in the colors of his new team.