How much is a never seen before talent worth: Predicting Shohei Ohtani's contract value next season
Shohei Ohtani is going to be a free agent after the 2023 season, and talks around the league have been looming of how much his contract will be. A player like Ohtani has never been seen before, so it is likely his deal will be huge.
Over the past few off-seasons, we have seen some mega contracts, significantly larger than before. For example, star shortstop Corey Seager signed a $325 million deal this past winter. Bryce Harper signed an even bigger deal at $330 million for the Philadelphia Phillies. The largest deal we have ever seen is from Ohtani's teammate Mike Trout, who signed a $425 million deal over 13 years.
Mike Trout and the Angels are finalizing the largest contract in professional sports history, a 12-year, $430M deal with a $35.8M average annual value.
Through his age-26 season, Trout is ahead of the all-time leaders' pace in home runs, hits, runs scored and walks. https://t.co/952MfEH1lO
"Mike Trout...12-year, $430 million deal with a $35.8 million average annual value." - ESPN Stats & Info
However, Shohei Ohtani could get a larger deal than any of those players mentioned. He could receive the largest deal in Major League Baseball history. Since Ohtani can both hit and pitch at an elite level, his value to a team is unmatched by any other player is baseball.
The 2023 off-season is going to be very interesting for Ohtani and the Los Angeles Angels. There is a chance Ohtani will leave Los Angeles and go to a contender. The main question remains, how large of a contract will Ohtani get after next off-season.
Shohei Ohtani could receive a record-breaking contract
Since entering Major League Baseball back in 2018, Ohtani has absolutely dominated the league. In the 2021 season, Ohtani had one of the most impressive seasons we have seen in recent history. At the plate, Ohtani belted 46 home runs and slugged just shy of .600. On the mound, Ohtani was 9-2 with just a 3.18 ERA, and had 156 strikeouts is 130.1 innings pitched.
2021 belonged to Shohei Ohtani
What was the AL MVP's greatest moment?
#MLB #Baseball #Ohtani #ShoheiOhtani https://t.co/Z4Bcapgt33
"2021 belonged to Shohei Ohtani" - MLB Europe
This season has seemed to be no different for Ohtani, as he is back to putting up MVP numbers. So far this season, Ohtani has 13 home runs and is slugging .514. Perhaps he is the most impressive on the mound, however, as he has just a 2.86 ERA, and already has 101 strikeouts in 74 innings pitched this season.
Shohei Ohtani has pitched 21.2 consecutive scoreless innings dating back to June 9th.
#GoHalos https://t.co/3NpDc0B9uT
"Shohei Ohtani has pitched 21.2 consecutive scoreless innings dating back to June 9th." - Los Angeles Angels
Stats like these make Shohei Ohtani so valuable to MLB rosters. If they could, many teams would write him a blank check for his next contract. Similar to when he entered the MLB from Japan, the 2023 off-season will be a sweepstakes for Ohtani.
Considering that Ohtani is just 27 years old, it is likely that he will receive a contract of 10+ years. Also, when taking Mike Trout's contract into consideration as well, Ohtani could be just the second player to receive a $400+ million contract.
If taking both of those into account, a good prediction for Ohtani's contract could be $450 million over 13 seasons. This would mean that Ohtani would make roughly $37.5 million a year, and he would have the largest contract in MLB history. However, this is just a prediction, and this number could be even higher depending on his 2023 MLB season.
No matter what, expect Shohei Ohtani to receive a mega deal come next winter.