Possible Ohtani contract.

[johndw52]

Would a contract like 40M/Y + some type of team investment, merchandise % pass the player's union approval? Or is this wishful thinking? 

 

[jsnpritchett]

Unfortunately, active players can't be partial (or complete) owners without the approval of the commissioner.  I've never heard of a player getting a % of merchandise, but I'm guessing it's prohibited.

[Stradling]

I recently came across an article stating that teams really don’t get a ton of money from MLB licensed merchandise, each team shares in the revenue, but then it is also split with the players association.  MLB teams share roughly 12% of the annual merchandise revenue, which comes out to about $20 million a season.  So Arte gets a few pennies from the sales of an Ohtani jersey, the same amount he would get for the sale of a Judge jersey.  So, no, I don’t think they can give him a percentage of merchandise sales unless it is unlicensed merchandise.  

Here is the link:

 https://ballarelife.com/do-mlb-players-get-paid-for-jersey-sales/

 

It kind of shits all over the narrative that certain players are cash cows for an owner because of jersey sales.

[tomsred]

There will be no easy way to keep Ohtani, just back up the truck and try to match whoever decides to make him filthy rich.  This team has been so accommodating to him, I can't imagine anyone doing anything more for him short of making the playoffs and winning it all.

[Revad]

I’m sure at this point quality of life and winning is all that matters, he has more money than he needs already.

[TroutField]

I’m sure he wants to go to a competent franchise that has shown a track record of winning. 
 

I’ve kind of already given in to the fact that he’s most likely going to be an Astro or Dodger. Probably a decent chance he comes back to Anaheim but if we blow it the last couple months and with nothing to show talent wise in the minors, not sure how we can spin short term or long term competitive teams when we haven’t been anywhere near the playoffs since 2015. 

[UndertheHalo]

I think one genuine ray of hope the angels have in terms of retaining him is that the Dodgers have shown an aversion to really long stupid contracts.  Ohtani is going to get a really long and stupid contract.  Arte will probably do that.  The Guggenheim might also but they also might not.  
 

ohtani’s contract is going to be unprecedented with no real comp to work with.  It’s an extremely risky and obviously expensive proposition. 

[UndertheHalo]

Like I could see the dodgers trying to get him at like 3 years and 150 million.  But perhaps balking at 10 years 425 million. 

Edited August 4, 2023 by UndertheHalo

[Revad]

28 minutes ago, UndertheHalo said:

I think one genuine ray of hope the angels have in terms of retaining him is that the Dodgers have shown an aversion to really long stupid contracts

Think Pujols, we’re really good at that kind of prospect.

[Justin]

33 minutes ago, UndertheHalo said:

I think one genuine ray of hope the angels have in terms of retaining him is that the Dodgers have shown an aversion to really long stupid contracts.  Ohtani is going to get a really long and stupid contract.  Arte will probably do that.  

This made me way happier than it should. "The one ray of hope we have is that our favorite team is REALLY dumb!" 

Maybe it's because I just read the latest comments in the thread about @Lou and I realize that none of this really matters. Or maybe it's just hard for me to care about the team like I used to. But your comment brought a smile to my face when it probably should not have. 

[UndertheHalo]

12 minutes ago, Justin said:

This made me way happier than it should. "The one ray of hope we have is that our favorite team is REALLY dumb!" 

Maybe it's because I just read the latest comments in the thread about @Lou and I realize that none of this really matters. Or maybe it's just hard for me to care about the team like I used to. But your comment brought a smile to my face when it probably should not have. 

I mean it is funny to think about it that way! I think it’s worth considering. 
 

[gurn67]

I'm hoping that when the decision was made to keep him that Arte got some sort of assurance that he will be allowed to match any offer. That's probably wishful thinking on my part. I think Shohei likes playing here, and I think he wants to win here. It's a big difference if he wins with the Angels versus going up the freeway and winning with a team that was already a championship team before he got there. it's like when Kevin Durant joined the Warriors. Jumping on the band wagon.

[AngelsLakersFan]

1 hour ago, UndertheHalo said:

I think one genuine ray of hope the angels have in terms of retaining him is that the Dodgers have shown an aversion to really long stupid contracts.  Ohtani is going to get a really long and stupid contract.  Arte will probably do that.  The Guggenheim might also but they also might not.  
 

ohtani’s contract is going to be unprecedented with no real comp to work with.  It’s an extremely risky and obviously expensive proposition. 

I mean theres gotta be a reason we always have great players and a terrible team!

[Warfarin]

11 hours ago, UndertheHalo said:

I think one genuine ray of hope the angels have in terms of retaining him is that the Dodgers have shown an aversion to really long stupid contracts.  Ohtani is going to get a really long and stupid contract.  Arte will probably do that.  The Guggenheim might also but they also might not.  
 

ohtani’s contract is going to be unprecedented with no real comp to work with.  It’s an extremely risky and obviously expensive proposition. 

It is possible.  The Dodgers seem to be very selective about who they want to give a long-term contract out to.  They have done so for Betts and, to a smaller degree, Freddie Freeman, and both have held up well thus far.  

Nobody can know what they will do.  I think the only two true threats are probably the Dodgers and Giants, because both have payroll space, are on the west coast, and are either established winners (Dodgers) or have a recent history of overperforming (Giants).  Obviously the fact that the Dodgers have largely avoided long-term contracts could be also that they want to keep the books clear for a shot at Ohtani, which they will have this offseason.  They are very calculated and risk averse when it comes to long-term deals, but I am guessing they might deviate with that for the sport's greatest star, and a once-in-a-lifetime type of player like Ohtani.

I do hope the fact that Arte played Ohtani right away (instead of optioning him to "service time" him), the fact that this team DOES appear to be improving organizationally, and the fact that (maybe?) Arte will routinely commit to spend a bit more to help fill out the roster and help the team win, that Ohtani might ultimately end up staying here.

I am very much against long-term deals for most players, but Ohtani is one I'd definitely offer one too and hope he stays, even though it will probably require a 12/500 type of contract to do so.

[angels1963]

Give him 40M yearly and then a % of the attendance after say 2.5M. If I remember correctly Reggie Jackson had something in his contract with Angels that was similar.

[Jeff Fletcher]

7 minutes ago, angels1963 said:

Give him 40M yearly and then a % of the attendance after say 2.5M. If I remember correctly Reggie Jackson had something in his contract with Angels that was similar.

You can give a player a fixed bonus when the team meets certain attendance thresholds, but not a percentage of revenue or anything like that. For example, player gets $1m if team hits 3M, etc.

I don’t think that’s revenant to Ohtani because he’s going to get so much guaranteed that something like won’t move the needle. 

[angels1963]

Thanks Jeff, I found something on Reggie's contact where he received 50 cents per admission over 2.4M and an additional 50,000 dollars if the attendance went over 3M.

 

[Dtwncbad]

My personal feeling is you probably don’t need to come up with a bunch of creative additional compensation streams for Ohtani.  You just pay him.  

He obviously knows exactly how to make money marketing himself already since he already makes more in endorsements than any other player.

Whatever additional revenue you think he brings in just allows to the team to increase what they can afford to just pay him.  In that regard, you are also “partnering” with him.

And as long as the salary is viewed as fair to the player, the player is going to prefer the guaranteed salary compared to the possible downside of some percentage of this or that (career ending injury for example).

It’s just gonna be a big fat contract.  And he will make a large part of his decision based on a winning environment and being comfortable that he is in the right place to continue his endorsement windfalls.

Edited August 4, 2023 by Dtwncbad

[Stradling]

I think you offer him a contract and ask him to see what other moves (acquisitions) will make him willing to sign the contract you have to offer. The end.  

[Angelsjunky]

I'm sure that whatever the Dodgers end up paying him, it will be more than adequate compensation.

[REDneck]

36 minutes ago, Stradling said:

I think you offer him a contract and ask him to see what other moves (acquisitions) will make him willing to sign the contract you have to offer. The end.  

Sure Strad, I'm sure well run successful organizations allow their players to have input on roster construction. This is not wise even for a player of Ohtani's caliber, maybe with one exception and that would be a preferred catcher for him.

It does happen occasionally in other sports, if you have a Tom Brady, Lebron James situation where Brady wants a certain receiver.

And how slippery is this slope? What duration of his contract does he get to have input on roster construction?

 

[Stradling]

23 minutes ago, REDneck said:

Sure Strad, I'm sure well run successful organizations allow their players to have input on roster construction. This is not wise even for a player of Ohtani's caliber, maybe with one exception and that would be a preferred catcher for him.

It does happen occasionally in other sports, if you have a Tom Brady, Lebron James situation where Brady wants a certain receiver.

And how slippery is this slope? What duration of his contract does he get to have input on roster construction?

 

Ok. So Ohtani isn’t special enough to have input in the roster in your eyes. I disagree. 

[REDneck]

7 minutes ago, Stradling said:

Ok. So Ohtani isn’t special enough to have input in the roster in your eyes. I disagree. 

I said he can have his preferred catcher. But, I mean do you want him running next years draft?

Alright I'm exaggerating...All good, carry on!

[Stradling]

36 minutes ago, REDneck said:

I said he can have his preferred catcher. But, I mean do you want him running next years draft?

Alright I'm exaggerating...All good, carry on!

No. Do I have an issue with him having input on free agency, no. 

[Duren, Duren]

It really comes down to what he's thinking. What are his greatest objectives, and how best to achieve them. Plus being in a personally comfortable environment I would assume. 

Hypothetically, maybe recency bias kicks in. If the team puts in a great two months it might make him feel that they are on the brink of better things. He obviously is smart and shrewd. And knows how injuries have handicapped the team. They are still a .500 team despite a never ending stream of critical injuries. Maybe not quite playoff bound, but within sniffing distance and likely a lot closer if healthy.  And the trades show a commitment from ownership/management to be proactively trying to win. 

In the end it will be his choice, filtered through advisors and suitors. He also has been with the team for six years and understands all he can about it. So it's not the unknown another franchise and city would be. As well I think he's still a Japanese citizen and only lives part time in the U.S. Maybe he likes familiarity or maybe he wants new experiences. Those could be factors too. 

Assuming the money and terms are relatively satisfactory and as good as other offers. If money is a priority 

I have a feeling his decision will come quickly. He must be processing everything as time passes and discussing it with his advisors. And their input is also a great unknown to the outside world. 

I just hope it isn't a drawn out bidding war with recriminations and accusations.