Dodgers Reportedly Earned 'Entirety' of Shohei Ohtani's $700M Contract in 1st Season

Having not yet finished his second season with the Los Angeles Dodgers, Shohei Ohtani is already providing surplus value to the franchise just 22 months after signing a 10-year, $700 million contract in free agency.

Per MLB insider Joon Lee, the Dodgers made back the "entirety" of that $700 million investment during Ohtani's first season through ticket sales, merchandise sales and worldwide marketing deals.

Ohtani signed one of the most unique contracts in sports history when he signed with the Dodgers. It is technically a 10-year, $700 million deal, but he presented the idea to structure it with $680 million of that being deferred over a 10-year period from 2034 to '43.

That brought the present-day value of the contract down to $460 million, giving the Dodgers more flexibility under the competitive balance tax. They continued to further invest in the roster by signing free agents like Blake Snell, Tanner Scott and retaining Teoscar Hernández last offseason.

In the wake of Ohtani signing with the Dodgers in December 2023, ticket and merchandise sales immediately went through the roof. StubHub spokesperson Adam Budelli told USA Today's Jordan Mendoza there was a 25x increase in daily web searches for the Dodgers one day after the superstar's decision.

Fanatics announced Ohtani's No. 17 Dodgers jersey set a record for most sales within 48 hours of release.

The Dodgers have become a huge brand in Japan thanks in large part to Ohtani, but also their signings of Yoshinobu Yamamoto and Roki Sasaki. They've had a foothold in the country dating back to the mid-90s when they signed Hideo Nomo, and it has only continued to grow in the three decades since.

Even though the Dodgers' combined payroll and tax payments for the 2025 season total $549 million, they made an MLB-high $752 million in revenue last year.

That revenue total is $24 million more than the No. 2 team (New York Yankees) and nearly $200 million more than the third-place team (Chicago Cubs: $584 million).

The Dodgers and Ohtani clearly had a plan in place when he decided to sign with the team. Both sides have executed it to perfection thus far with a World Series title in the first year, a second straight appearance in the Fall Classic this season and Ohtani likely to win his second straight NL MVP award.