Shohei Ohtani’s Salary and Agent Are Off the Charts! “Latest Commercial Fee List” for Famous Celebrities & Athletes Revealed

The Astonishing Talent of “Monster” Shohei Ohtani

For a long time, the “highest annual commercial contract fee in history” in Japan’s advertising industry was said to be Ken Watanabe’s (66) 200 million yen.

“That ‘price’ was set around the time he began appearing in one Hollywood blockbuster after another—such as the movie *The Last Samurai*—and started being hailed as ‘Ken Watanabe of the World.’ Neither Sayuri Yoshinaga (81) nor Ichiro (52) at the peak of his career could match it,”

After explaining this, Mr. A, an executive at an advertising agency, gazed into the distance and said, “I never imagined a ‘monster’ would appear capable of surpassing that record—which seemed unbreakable—by a whopping 1 billion yen…”

The name of that “monster” is Shohei Ohtani (32).

FRIDAY reported in its September 26, ’25 issue that Ohtani’s annual commercial contract fee had reached 1 billion yen, but the latest figure for the American League MVP—who contributed to back-to-back World Series championships last season—is said to be 1.3 billion yen, a further 300 million yen increase from that…

“While the weak yen has contributed to this figure, it’s nothing short of staggering. What’s more, he has a stipulation that he ‘won’t accept contracts shorter than two years.’ It’s likely an excuse to turn down the flood of appearance offers, but even so, companies hoping to feature him are lining up.

“It seems he’s managing to handle the volume by setting aside days during the offseason for commercial shoots and filming everything at once under the condition of ‘two and a half hours per company,’” said Mr. A.

FRIDAY interviewed Mr. A mentioned above, Mr. B—a former head of an advertising casting agency—and commercial planners, based on top-secret data held by an executive at a major advertising agency. By cross-referencing this data with their own sources, we compiled the “Latest Commercial Fee List” for famous athletes and entertainers.The figures on the list represent market rates—starting points for negotiations—and may vary depending on the relationship with the client and specific terms.

Let’s take a look at the athletes section.

“The primary factor determining an athlete’s advertising contract amount is, first and foremost, the volume of news coverage. With the weak yen and declining real wages causing Japanese people to lose confidence, they place their hopes on athletes succeeding overseas. The media is giving extensive coverage to Ohtani, who is dominating both as a pitcher and a hitter in MLB,” said Mr. A.

Sales Tripled Thanks to Ohtani’s Endorsement

While news of the North and Central American World Cup has been reported daily, “the Japanese advertising industry is watching calmly,” says a commercial planner.

“The number of Instagram followers for Cape Verde’s goalkeeper Bozina (40) skyrocketed from 50,000 to nearly 30 million after the World Cup. The World Cup’s influence is certainly huge, but it only happens once every four years, and it was a real blow that Japan failed to reach its long-cherished goal of the quarterfinals or beyond.”

There are many other athletes—in tennis, golf, and basketball—who are competing on par with the world’s best, but there are still very few matches broadcast on terrestrial TV, and the number of games is limited. In contrast, Major League Baseball features 162 games a year, and NHK broadcasts them daily.

“In Ohtani’s case, the positive image athletes typically project—such as freshness, hard work, a spirit of challenge, and growth—is amplified by factors like ‘excelling on the world’s biggest stage,’ ‘receiving praise from international media,’ and ‘valuing his family.’ This is reported extensively on terrestrial TV almost every day.There are more than enough reasons for companies to shell out big bucks. And in fact, products from clients featuring Ohtani are seeing increased sales.

It’s well known that Ito En has seen a significant increase in sales in both Japan and the U.S., but Kose deserves special mention. Sales of ‘Sekkisei’ sunscreen have tripled since Ohtani was cast, and the number of male customers is also on the rise,” says a commercial planner.

Mr. B speaks highly of the skills of Ohtani’s agent, Nez Valero.

“He’s a genius at ‘segmentation,’ isn’t he? He’s skillfully segmented and secured contracts with companies that were previously considered competitors—such as tea versus beverages, or cars versus tires.Mr. Valero isn’t a sports-specific agent; he’s affiliated with ‘CAA Sports,’ a sports agency backed by one of the world’s largest full-service talent agencies, which represents world-class talents such as Beyoncé (44) and Brad Pitt (62). In other words, his agent is also in a league of his own.”

[Part 2] Mei Nagano’s “Disappearance,” the “Highs and Lows” of Former Johnny’s Artists… “Latest Commercial Fee List” for Famous Talents & Athletes

From the August 7 & 14, 2026, combined issue of *FRIDAY*