B/R AM: Ohtani vs. Taxes

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Shohei Ohtani's record-breaking contract, where he's deferring $68M annually until 2034, has a new interested party: California's tax department.

If Ohtani isn't living in California when his deferrals kick in, he could stand to save $98M on income tax, which Ca. State Controller Malia M. Cohen is essentially labeling unfair.

• "The current tax system allows for unlimited deferrals for those fortunate enough to be in the highest tax brackets, creating a significant imbalance in the tax structure," she said on Monday

Which ... might've partly been the point of the contract.

Cohen also urged Congress to 'take immediate and decisive action to rectify this imbalance.'

So ... he's safe for now, but maybe not by 2034?

WEDNESDAY'S HEADLINES

➤ Raptors HC goes off on refs

➤ Cubs sign Japanese ace

➤ Dolphins-Chiefs is going to be *cold*

➤ Haliburton injury not serious

➤ Best landing spots for Jim Harbaugh

GUESS THE MLB PLAYER

CLUE 1: Hall-of-Famer

CLUE 2: 2 straight MVPs

CLUE 3: 3 teams

• Frank Thomas

• Vlad Guerrero

• Alex Rodriguez 

• Ken Griffey Jr.

WHAT WE'RE WATCHING

Rich Storry/Getty Images

🏀 NBA Wednesday

• Wolves at Celtics (7 PM ET)
• 76ers at Hawks (7:30 PM ET)
• Thunder at Heat (7:30 PM ET)
• Pelicans at Warriors (ABC, 8:30 PM ET)
• Nuggets at Jazz (ESPN, 10 PM ET)

🎓 Women's Hoops

• 3 Iowa at Purdue (Peacock, 8 PM ET)

🏒 NHL on TNT

• Wild at Stars (TNT, 7:30 PM ET)
• Knights at Avs (TNT, 10 PM ET)

Alex Goodlett/Getty ImagesONE LAST THING

Alex Goodlett/Getty Images

Erik Spoelstra, who started out as a video coordinator with the Heat in 1995, signed an extension yesterday worth $120M over eight years, putting him among the highest paid coaches in the league.

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