Shohei Ohtani's $700,000,000 move serves as fodder for Skip Bayless' dig at LeBron James: "You're now the second biggest star"
Two-way phenom Shohei Ohtani's free-agency closure has taken the sports world by storm. The Japanese star agreed to a humongous 10-year, $700 million contract on Saturday. Many analysts gave their opinions and perspectives on the record contract, but none can beat Skip Bayless.
The "Undisputed" host, who is known to be a big LeBron James hater, used this opportunity to take another subtle dig at the LA Lakers star. He took to X (formerly Twitter) to second LeBron behind Shohei Ohtani as the biggest sports star in Hollywood.
"Move over, LeBron. You're now the second biggest sports star in Hollywood," Bayless tweeted.
James signed a two-year, $99,023,288 contract with the LA Lakers on Aug. 18, 2022. He will earn an annual average salary of $49,511,644, almost $21 million short of Ohtani's $70 million annual paycheck.
However, James is a bona fide star, boasting four NBA titles and an NBA Cup, which he won Saturday. On the other hand, Shohei Ohtani hasn't played a postseason game in his six-year tenure with the Angels.
While Ohtani has generated a buzz with his contract, it remains to be seen if he can translate that value into postseason success for the Dodgers.
How does Shohei Ohtani's contract compare to other professional sports contracts?
Just to put good measure on Shohei Ohtani's contract, the Dodgers star's contract surpasses the combined contract value of Philadelphia Phillies first baseman Bryce Harper (13 years, $330 million) and New York Yankees captain Aaron Judge (nine years, $360 million).
Mike Trout, who signed a 12-year, $426.5 million contract with the Los Angeles Angels in 2019, was the previous highest signing in MLB history.
Talking about other sports, Argentinian football star Lionel Messi signed a four-year, $674 million contract with FC Barcelona. Furthermore, he was reportedly offered roughly €500 million (£435 million/$541 million) by the Saudi League, which he turned down.
Instead, in July, he signed a contract with MLS team Inter Miami that reportedly pays him close to $60 million per year, including his salary, Inter Miami ownership part, and signing bonus.
With this contract, Ohtani has placed himself among the highest-earning athletes in the realm of sports.