This is how Minnesota sports compare to Shohei Ohtani’s $700 million contract.
When Shohei Ohtani revealed on his Instagram account on Saturday afternoon that he intended to sign a 10-year, $700 million contract with the Los Angeles Dodgers, it sent a shockwave through the professional sports world.
Ohtani’s contract is the biggest in Major League Baseball history, surpassing Mike Trout’s $426.5 million, 12-year agreement with the Los Angeles Angels, according to ESPN. It also tops the 10-year, $450 million deal signed by Patrick Mahomes to become the biggest athlete contract in major league sports.
Ohtani’s $70 million salary also exceeds the previous record held by Justin Verlander and Max Scherzer, who were paid an average of $43.3 million by the New York Mets in the previous season. It also exceeds the Opening Day payrolls of the Oakland Athletics ($56.9 million) and Baltimore Orioles ($60.9 million).
It’s difficult to imagine how much the Dodgers will pay Ohtani in Minnesota.
The Minnesota Twins set a franchise record with their $156 million Opening Day payroll the previous season. Following the termination of their Bally Sports North contract, which resulted in a loss of approximately $55 million (or 78% of Ohtani’s average salary) in television revenue, Dan Hayes of The Athletic projects that the Twins may have an Opening Day payroll of $125 million to $140 million in 2024.
The good news is that the Twins’ payroll for the upcoming season would be double Ohtani’s yearly salary if they finish on the high end. The bad news is that Ohtani’s pay is significantly more than some of the highest figures ever recorded by the team.
In 1992, Kirby Puckett signed the largest free-agent contract in Major League Baseball history, agreeing to stay with the Twins for $30 million over five years. Puckett’s record-breaking contract is only slightly less than 4% of the $700 million that Ohtani will get from the Dodgers; in addition, Ohtani’s contract is twice as long.
Ohtani’s mega-deal is unbeatable, as are Carlos Correa and Joe Mauer. Joe Mauer’s 2010 eight-year, $184 million extension is more than three times the value of Ohtani’s contract, and Correa’s potential earnings of $270 million are greater if the Twins exercise a four-year, $70 million vesting option on top of the six-year, $200 million contract he signed in January.
What’s even more shocking is that Ohtani’s $700 million contract is greater than the combined value of the two failed free-agent signings during Correa’s winter free-agency tour.
Prior to both of his contracts being void due to physical concerns, Correa agreed to 13-year, $350 million contracts with the San Francisco Giants and 12-year, $315 million contracts with the New York Mets.
In addition, Ohtani’s average salary is absurd when compared to previous Twins salaries. After winning the World Series and pocketing $1.3 million (1.8 percent of Ohtani’s yearly salary), Kent Hrbek was the highest-paid player on the 1987 Twins.
The $70 million figure also surpasses the World Series-winning 1991 Twins opening day payroll of $22.4 million and the 2002 Twins payroll of $40.2 million, the last Twins team to make it to the American League Championship Series.
With an original $480 million construction budget far less than what Ohtani will earn over the next ten years, even Target Field is no match for Ohtani. Ohtani’s average salary is only 42% of the $29.5 million project that Target Field is proposing to replace its scoreboards.
