An Associated Press source says Ohtani can back out of the deal with the Dodgers if either for the two officials lose their jobs.
A source close to the deal told The Associated Press on Wednesday that Shohei Ohtani can get out of his $700 million, 10-year deal with the Los Angeles Dodgers if either of two key leaders leaves.
The Dodgers will officially present Ohtani at a news conference on Thursday. A source said that Ohtani could get out of his deal if Mark Walter was no longer the controlling owner or Andrew Friedman was no longer the president for baseball operations for the team.
The person spoke on the condition of anonymity because the terms were not made public. He fixed up the club’s farm system and made the front office bigger and better managed.
The deal between Ohtani’s representatives or the team is still just a letter of agreement, the person said. Major League Baseball has not yet been sent an official contract.
The private partnership Guggenheim Baseball Management bought the Dodgers for $2.15 billion in 2012, with Walter in charge. Walter went to Dodger Stadium a lot when he first became the main owner.
But over time, he became less and less present. By the end of last season, he had only made it to a few games.
He worked for the Tampa Bay Rays for ten years before being hired by the Dodgers in 2014. He slowly rebuilt that team, and even though they had one of the lowest payrolls in baseball, they made it to the championship game in 2008.
Friedman has an amazing track record in Los Angeles. He has led the Dodgers to nine division wins, three NL pennants, and the 2020 World Series, even though the season was cut short by the pandemic.
Ohtani’s deal calls for a $70 million salary every year. Of that amount, $68 million is deferred in no interest and will be paid in equal parts every July 1 from 2034 to 2043.
As part of negotiations on June 21, 2021, MLB wanted to ban delayed pay, but the union said no, so MLB dropped the idea. At 3 p.m. PST, Ohtani will be presented at an announcement in the Centerfield Plaza of Dodger Stadium.
MLB said on Wednesday that Ohtani’s shirt sold more than any other player’s in the first 48 hours after it came out, beating out soccer stars Lionel Messi as well as Cristiano Ronaldo.
On Wednesday, Ohtani was meeting with players at the stadium, but he couldn’t be seen. Among them were seven-time All-Star outfielder Mookie Betts as well as reliever Joe Kelly.
Walter runs an international financial services firm called Guggenheim Partners, which has main offices in both Chicago and New York. He was born and raised in Iowa.
The Dodgers will officially present Ohtani at a news conference on Thursday. The person said that Ohtani could get out of his deal if Mark Walter was no longer the controlling owner or if Andrew Friedman was no longer the president for baseball operations for the team.
The person spoke on the condition of anonymity because the terms were not made public. Ohtani’s deal, which was made public on Monday, says that 97% of the money will be put off without interest and won’t be paid in full until 2043.
At 3 p.m. PST, Ohtani is going to be presented at an announcement in the Centerfield Plaza of Dodger Stadium.
The Athletic was the first to report on Wednesday that Ohtani’s contract had a clause that let him get out of it if the Dodgers made certain changes to their team.
The deal between Ohtani’s representatives as well as the team is still just a letter of agreement, the person said. Major League Baseball has not yet been sent an official contract.
Ohtani’s deal calls for a $70 million salary every year. Of that amount, $68 million is deferred in no interest and will be paid in equal parts every July 1 from 2034 to 2043.
MLB said on Wednesday that Ohtani’s shirt sold more than any other player’s in the first 48 hours after it came out, beating out soccer stars Lionel Messi as well as Cristiano Ronaldo.
On Wednesday, Ohtani was meeting with players at the stadium, but he couldn’t be seen. Among them were seven-time All-Star outfielder Mookie Betts alongside reliever Joe Kelly.