'976 billion!' Ohtani passed A-road in one go, conquered career earnings.

Should Shohei Otani, who became the first ‘$700 million man’ in human sports history, make the right choice six years ago? Let’s turn back time to November 2017. Ohtani, who was 23 years old at the time, received approval from the Nippon Ham Fighters team and decided to take steps to advance to the major leagues. Numerous major league clubs participated in the posting competition for Ohtani, who succeeded as a pitcher in the Japanese Professional Baseball (NPB). Ohtani distributed a questionnaire asking the seven clubs he had chosen as final candidates what he was curious about. It was a kind of interview, and it was an act of 'abuse of power' that is only acceptable for a major league superstar. It was worth it. American clubs were already paying attention to Ohtani, who was active as a pitcher in NPB, and the seven final teams he was selected for were all prestigious clubs representing the Major League. Ohtani chose the Los Angeles Angels as his major league debut club, as they promised to accommodate any two-batting style he wanted. However, at the time, he had no choice but to sign a contract at a ‘low price’. International free agents under the age of 25 must sign a minor league contract in accordance with the U.S.-Japan Player Contract Agreement and receive a signing bonus from within the international signing bonus pool set for each club. While the signing bonus the Angels paid to Ohtani was only $2.315 million, the posting fee, or transfer fee, paid to his original team, Nippon Ham, was a whopping $20 million. According to American media reports at the time, there were many analyzes that if he had played for Nippon Ham for two more years until 2019 and applied for posting after meeting the 25-year-old requirement, he would have been able to sign a major league contract worth more than $200 million in total. So why did Otani try to move to the United States early despite the ‘poor’ conditions? In an interview with the Japanese sports magazine Number in November 2022, Ohtani said, "I timed my entry into the major leagues not to make a lot of money, but to maximize my chances of being in the Hall of Fame." This means that he decided to advance early for future fame rather than immediate money. However, in professional sports, future fame means future money, so it is safe to say that Ohtani successfully achieved the goal he set six years ago this time. Ohtani's 10-year, $700 million contract with the Los Angeles Dodgers is the largest single contract in terms of guaranteed amount in global sports history. The person who ranks first in the Guinness Book of World Records in the sports contract category should be replaced by Otani. Soccer star Lionel Messi surpassed the four-year, $ If you narrow the scope to the major leagues, it is $273.5 million more than the 12-year $426.5 million contract signed by former teammate Mike Trout in March 2019, and the 9-year contract signed by New York Yankees Aaron Judge a year ago, the highest ever free agent contract. This is almost twice the amount of $360 million. Otani's agent, Nezu Valero, reportedly earned more than $35 million in fees from this contract. It is equivalent to the salary of a major league superstar. Ohtani's total annual salary during his six years with the Angels is $42.27 million. His salary was at the lowest level in the major leagues for his first three seasons, and after signing a two-year contract worth $8.5 million from 2021 to 2022, he received $30 million this year, and his salary finally rose to the top level. $700 million is 16.6 times the cumulative annual salary of the past six years. https://www.totorank.net