[Phillip Beall]

All,

Following on the heels of the Texas Rangers winning the World Series this year, I was startled to see the headline about Shohei Ohtani signing a $700 million contract with the Los Angeles Dodgers.  I thought “How in the world can any single baseball team pay that much for one player?”  Well, as it turns out there is some gimmickry involved in arriving at that number.  This Wall Street Journal – Shohei Ohtani Signed a $700 Million Contract. He’s Only Getting Paid $2 Million a Year. -article, which came with a “gift link” for our subscriber account, describes how they did it.  In short, he is deferring $68 million per season until the end of his contract.  Think about that.  If he stays healthy and plays the full ten years and delivers on his potential, he will cash in in a nearly unbelievable manner.  Fascinating.  Oh sure, some will shout that no baseball player is worth that kind of money and they will point out teachers, police officer pay, etc., but the fact is this – People are buying tickets, ever larger stadiums and sports complexes are being built, the TV money keeps getting bigger and the player paychecks just keep getting larger.  So, consider this.  I once read a fascinating article about people being wealthy.  I think Shaquille O’Neal was making like $20 million a season and the writer was using him to illustrate a point.  To us, you and I, someone making $20 million a year is insanely rich, right?  Well, what do you call the person that is signing the paycheck?  Someone is writing that check for $20 million a year and that is just to one player.  He/she writes checks for the other players too.  And the coaches and trainers and others.  So, what is rich?…  And why did Ohtani do this?  California has an income tax.  Ten years from now if he retires and moves to Florida, he can tell California “see ya” and not pay them any income tax.  AND the Dodgers have the financial ability to hire other players.  Brilliant in both regards.  Anyway, I hope those that choose to enjoy reading the article.

Phillip

• This topic was modified 2 years, 2 months ago by Phillip Beall. Reason: Corrected spelling of Shaquille O'Neal

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