“Wherever you go in Tokyo, no matter where you turn your gaze, you see Ohtani’s face.”
Tommy Edman, a teammate of Shohei Ohtani, said this after personally witnessing and experiencing the frenzy surrounding Ohtani ahead of this Tokyo opening series. Ohtani’s popularity has indeed soared.
The marketing value of the product known as Ohtani could be seen through his additional income. The U.S. media outlet Los Angeles Times reported on the 20th that “Ohtani is expected to earn $100 million (146.7 billion won) in advertising revenue alone this year, without receiving a single cent from the Dodgers.”
The Los Angeles Times cited this year’s Major League Baseball player income rankings from sports economic media Sportico, explaining that only Ohtani and Juan Soto (New York Mets) are the first Major League players to earn over $100 million in a single season.
Soto acquired free agent (FA) status last year and signed a massive 15-year, $765 million (1.1225 trillion won) contract with the Mets. This surpassed the unprecedented $700 million (1.0273 trillion won) contract Ohtani signed with the Dodgers a year earlier.
The media further explained Soto’s revenue structure, noting, “Soto receives $7 million (10.2 billion won) from advertising contracts and a signing bonus of $75 million (110 billion won). His salary for this season is $47 million (69 billion won), and there is no deferred clause in his salary. The total amounts to $129 million (189.3 billion won).”
In contrast, Ohtani included a deferred clause in his 10-year, $700 million contract, allowing him to receive $680 million (998 billion won) over the next 10 years after signing. Ohtani lives on a ‘low salary’ of $2 million (29 billion won) during the contract term. However, there’s no need to worry about Ohtani’s income because of his incredible marketing value, having perfectly excelled as a two-way player and winning three MVPs. This is why he can earn $100 million without a salary.
The media reported, “Ohtani’s revenue structure consists of $100 million in advertising revenue and a salary of $2 million. He agreed to defer $68 million (99.8 billion won) of the $70 million (102.7 billion won) he would receive annually during his 10-year contract. Therefore, the total amount he actually receives this year is $10.2 million (149.7 billion won).”
The media added, “No player generates as much advertising revenue as Ohtani. According to Sportico’s rankings, Bryce Harper of the Philadelphia Phillies recorded the second-highest advertising revenue after Ohtani, but that amount is only $10 million (14.7 billion won).” This is a tenfold difference. Harper is also a superstar representing Major League Baseball, but it has been reaffirmed that Ohtani is the “superstar among superstars.”
The Tokyo opening series was, quite literally, a stage for Ohtani, by Ohtani, and for Ohtani. As Edman mentioned earlier, billboards featuring Ohtani’s face could be seen anywhere, and Japanese fans, without exception, purchased and wore Ohtani’s jersey as well as the Dodgers’ blue merchandise.
According to the American economic magazine Forbes, the Dodgers earned $70 million in new sponsorship revenue thanks to Ohtani last year. Furthermore, Ohtani personally has been earning extra money by filming over 20 advertisements across various industries. This is the Ohtani effect that always exceeds expectations.
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