Exclusive: Confidential 2025 Commercial Fee List for Top Athletes Leaked from Major Ad Agency

Shohei Ohtani (31) — after a season where he not only notched 10 wins and 10 home runs as a two-way player but also claimed the home run title for the second straight year — has become such a singular figure that even in Major League Baseball, only legends like Babe Ruth can be said to compare. And now, Ohtani has created a legend in the advertising world as well.

An executive at a major advertising agency expressed admiration:

“Last year, he set a new record in Japanese advertising history with an annual contract fee of 900 million yen, but this year, that figure has been surpassed. He’s entered an unprecedented range — into the double-digit billions.”

FRIDAY obtained confidential data from a major ad agency and interviewed casting company presidents and commercial planners. Based on their combined data, the magazine compiled the “Latest CM Appearance Fee List” for popular athletes and entertainers in 2025. The figures represent benchmark negotiation prices, which can vary depending on the client relationship and terms.

Let’s start with the athletes. Athletes who embody positive images of challenge, growth, and health are especially popular among clients — but as seen in the data, Ohtani stands far above the rest.

According to a commercial planner, this dominance stems not only from Ohtani’s unprecedented performance but also from the nature of his sport:

“The MLB regular season has 162 games, and with the playoffs included, it runs for nearly half a year. You hear ‘Ohtani, Ohtani’ every day on the news and variety shows — that exposure is enormous. Olympic gold medalists shine brightly too, but that happens only once every four years, which limits their impact.”

And the effect on business is undeniable.

“After Ito En hired Ohtani, their sales rose dramatically both in Japan and the U.S. KOSÉ, meanwhile, has seen explosive growth — since launching ads featuring Ohtani in 2023, new department store customers increased 3.6 times, and online sales surged roughly 20-fold. His ‘décolleté pose’ from the commercial even became popular among Dodgers players, further boosting sales this year. When a brand can tell retailers, ‘We’re running an Ohtani campaign,’ it helps secure premium shelf space — a subtle but powerful advantage,” said a CM planner.

Clearly, investing 1 billion yen in him is more than justified. But according to an executive at a major ad agency, there’s now a new condition attached:

“Starting this year, his contracts come with a minimum three-year term. Ohtani isn’t demanding 3 billion yen — it’s a polite way of declining new offers. He simply doesn’t have the time to film more commercials. Training and physical maintenance take priority. If I were a planner, I’d go after his dog, Decopin — he’s already more recognizable than some celebrities. It could make an impact like when Mitsubishi Motors used the frilled lizard in its ‘Mirage’ ads. The annual contract fee would probably be around 10 million yen.”

On the other hand, Kei Nishikori (35), who once appeared in UNIQLO commercials alongside a model he was later rumored to have had an affair with, saw his fee drop by 10 million yen to 50 million yen.

“Tadashi Yanai, CEO of Fast Retailing (UNIQLO’s parent company), is from Yamaguchi Prefecture. In the ad world, he’s seen as something of a benefactor to Nishikori, the superstar from neighboring Shimane. I haven’t heard that he was angry about the affair reports — Nishikori’s position seems safe. The drop in his annual fee likely just reflects his lack of recent results,” said the ad agency executive.