"Juan Soto is not bringing $200,000,000 extra revenue" - Reds HOFer proves Shohei Ohtani is undervalued at $700,000,000
Imagine both Shohei Ohtani and Juan Soto entering free agency in the same offseason. Who would have gotten the bigger deal? Probably Ohtani, right? The Dodgers star has three MVPs to his name, unlike Soto, who doesn't have MVPs but has age on his side.
However, this is just a hypothetical scenario, but after Soto agreed to a record 15-year, $765 million deal with the Mets on Sunday, former Yankees coach and Reds HOFer Sean Casey believes Ohtani should have gotten a billion-dollar deal given the amount of business he brings to the Dodgers. Ohtani signed a 10-year, $700 million deal last offseason.
"I heard the Dodgers are making $200 million off him every year because of his status as an international superstar—the marketing, the revenue they generate," Casey said on The Mayor's Office. "Think about what they have to pay him. Even if it's, say, $70 million, they’re making $200 million a year, which means a $130 million profit.
"He could have said, ‘Listen, this is what you're making off me. I'll split that with you down the middle.’ The deal should have been way over a billion dollars."
Casey compared Soto's contract to that of Ohtani.
"Now, when you look at Shohei Ohtani—Ohtani is a unicorn," Casey said (7:50 onwards). "He’s one of the best pitchers and hitters in the game, and you just gave him $700 million. You just gave Juan Soto, who’s solely a hitter, $756 million. Juan Soto is not bringing in $200 million in extra revenue a year for your club."
Comparing Juan Soto's contract with Shohei Ohtani's contract
Juan Soto's 15-year, $765 million contract has no deferrals in place, unlike Shohei Ohtani, who each year will be paid only $2 million until the end of his contract and then $68 each year until the completion of the following decade.
The present-day value of Ohtani's contract is around $440 million (4.43% discounted rate). Meanwhile, Soto's contract stands almost the same since there are no deferrals in place. Soto's contract also has a $75 million signing bonus which Ohtani's deal didn't. Moreover, the Mets can upgrade Soto's offer by giving him $55 million AAV for his last 10 years so that the outfielder doesn't opt out after the 2029 season.
All in all, Ohtani's contract turns out to be more team favorable which will allow the Dodgers to stack stars alongside him while the offer of Soto makes a big hole in the Mets payroll but has set the benchmark for future deals to come.