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Shohei Ohtani’s new contract with the Los Angeles Dodgers is all anyone can talk about in the Major League Baseball world these days.
But is it possible that Ohtani doesn’t make it to the end of his newly minted 10-year, $700 million deal?
Not only is the Japanese superstar deferring all but $2 million of his $70 million per year until after the deal is over. But he also included a unique clause that may allow him a way out should things take a wrong turn in the organization.
According to ESPN’s Alden Gonzalez, an email outlining the terms of the deal was sent to MLB agents and the MLBPA. The email showed that Ohtani is allowed opt out of the deal if owner Mark Walter or president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman is no longer involved with the team.
Gonzalez reports that the email read: “if specific change in Dodger personnel, Player may opt out of contract at end of season the change occurs.”
He then confirmed with multiple sources that the “specific change” did refer to Walter or Friedman leaving.
While it’s unlikely that Friedman or Walter leave anytime soon, it does throw a wrench into things. Many fans believed that Walter would sell the team before paying Ohtani the deferred money that he’s owed starting in 2033.
But if he were to do that prior to 2033, Ohtani could leave the team altogether. Though the Dodgers would still be on the hook for deferred money accrued in his years with the team.
It’s just another element of an absolutely unprecedented contract given to perhaps the game’s most transcendent player.