In addition to the unprecedented contract fee, more than 5 billion yen in sponsorship fees each year… Shohei Otani, 29-year-old bachelor star’s “way of spending money

Shohei Ohtani, 29, has become the world’s most profitable professional athlete, let alone a Major League Baseball player. The big money he will get from his move to the Dodgers is not only the total of about 100 billion yen.

As of last year, Otani had already signed contracts with 13 global companies, including New Balance, Porsche, Seiko Watch, and JAL. Regarding this sponsorship income, the U.S. economic magazine Forbes analyzed, “Otani earns at least $35 million a year off the field.

If he plays for the Dodgers, one of the most popular teams in the majors, starting this season, he should have even more sponsors in the future. It would not be at all surprising if his non-baseball income is 6 to 8 billion yen.

The contract that Ohtani signed with the Dodgers includes a clause that allows him to receive $68 million annually from ’34 to ’43 as a deferred payment in exchange for an annual salary of $2 million for the next 10 years.

This is quite a windfall for the Dodgers. If approximately 70 billion yen is invested in U.S. Treasury bonds with an annual interest rate of 4%, the amount will reach 100 billion yen in 10 years. In other words, 30 billion yen will be saved,” said Yasuhiko Fukano, a financial planner.

Like the Dodgers, Otani is expected to invest his own assets.

There will be no need to worry about Ohtani falling prey to fraud or failing to invest. In the United States, it is common practice for the assets of a wealthy person to be managed by a team of experts. Otani’s agent, Nez Valero, 60, naturally has expertise in asset management,” Fukano said.

If the sponsorship income of approximately 6 billion yen per year is used for investment, even if 50% of the nearly 10 billion yen annual salary paid by the team after 10 years is deducted for taxes, the total assets after retirement are expected to be at least 100 billion yen. What will Otani do with this huge amount of assets?

Otani might build a baseball stadium. The construction cost of Escon Field, a new baseball stadium built by his old team Nippon Ham, is approximately 60 billion yen, so he could buy it with cash.

There is also a possibility that he could become an owner of a major baseball team, like Derek Jeter, 49, the legendary Yankees ranger. The Marlins’ transfer price was about 130 billion yen.

Major league commentator and tax accountant Shinichiro Otomi has high hopes for the establishment of the “Otani Foundation.

If the Marlins can raise funds from sponsors and establish a foundation of about 50 billion yen, the profits from its operation alone will be enough to give baseball equipment to tens of thousands of children in Japan and the U.S. every year. Although he will not be playing in Japan for a while because of this contract, I am sure he will be a promoter of baseball in Japan, the United States, and around the world.

Ohtani is sure to attract fans not only by his play but also by the way he spends his money.

From the January 19, 2024 issue of FRIDAY