Shohei Ohtani (29, LA Angels) is one of the most popular baseball players in the world. He is a ‘genius’ who doubles as a pitcher and hitter in the Major League (MLB), so his topicality and rarity value are high. Recently, the stock price rose further as he led Japan to win the 2023 World Baseball Classic (WBC). Wherever he goes, a lot of money follows him.
Forbes, an American economic magazine, predicted in its latest issue that “Ohtani will earn $65 million (before tax, about 84.5 billion won) this year, making the most money in MLB.” Of the total amount estimated by Forbes, annual salary ($30 million) accounts for less than half. This means that Ohtani will earn $35 million this year from over-the-counter income alone, including advertising, portrait rights, appearance fees, and merchandise sales.
Compared to Max Scherzer (New York Mets), who was ranked next to Ohtani, the difference is more noticeable. Scherzer’s projected earnings this year are $59.3 million, 98% of which comes from his annual salary ($58.3 million). Over-the-counter earnings estimates are all about $1 million. The same goes for Aaron Judge (3rd), who is the most popular among the New York Yankees. Forbes estimated Jersey’s ‘out-of-the-field earnings’ at $4.5 million. It is about 13% of Ohtani. This is true even though it is the largest amount among players excluding Ohtani. 먹튀검증
Forbes analyzed this phenomenon because “Ohtani was a hit both in the east and west of the Pacific Ocean.” In fact, Ohtani has partnerships with a total of 13 companies in Japan and the United States. In Japan, fashion brand Boss and watch company Seiko, and in the United States, sports goods sales platform Fanatics and sports card company Tops are representative examples. Last month, Japanese cosmetics brand Gosei and American sports brand New Balance signed a model contract with Otani for a huge amount. In particular, New Balance is conducting aggressive marketing by releasing new sneakers in collaboration with Ohtani.
Chris Davies, New Balance’s chief marketing officer, told Forbes, “Ohtani’s advertising effect in the Japanese market amounts to tens of millions of dollars each year. He is a cultural icon in Japan before a baseball player.” Ohtani is the first and only one that can have such a strong commercial influence on the brand.”
The future is brighter. Ohtani will become a free agent (FA) at the end of this season. From next year, it is highly likely that Ohtani’s ‘in-market’ income will be much higher than its off-board income. MLB’s ‘ransom price inflation’ phenomenon is also evident. The total of the top 10 annual salaries this year was $436 million, up 15 percent from last year ($377 million). MLB clubs spent a total of $3.8 billion on free agent contracts last winter. Forbes said, “There are predictions that Ohtani will break the $500 million mark for the first time in history, surpassing teammate Mike Trout’s $426.5 million (12 years) record.”
Veteran baseball agent Chris Korrath said, “Any team can receive a groundbreaking reward if they sign Ohtani.”