Los Angeles Angels superstar Shohei Ohtani will not only be making the most money of any major league baseball player in 2023 — he's set to make an MLB record of $65 million, according to an annual list published on Monday by Forbes.
The list highlights Ohtani as the highest-paid player in the sport, which includes his salary plus endorsements for the upcoming season. The Japanese superstar signed a one-year, $30 million contract extension in October as part of an agreement to avoid salary arbitration, per ESPN.
“Ohtani is expected to make at least $35 million from endorsements, according to Forbes, up from $6 million in 2021 and $20 million in 2022,” wrote ESPN on Tuesday. “The magazine's endorsement revenue estimates showed a substantial gap between the Japanese star and his peers.”
And this is all before Ohtani heads to free agency after this season; he's widely expected to land the most lucrative contract in baseball history before 2024. It will be intriguing to see if the 2021 AL MVP re-signs with the Angels after the team hasn't had any sort of success since he's played in North America.
Ohtani led Team Japan to a World Baseball Classic title last week, headlined by him striking out teammate and Team USA's Trout in the ninth inning while up one run in probably the most electric ending to a WBC ever.
New York Mets ace Max Scherzer was second on Forbes' overall list at $59.3 million, with New York Yankees slugger Aaron Judge in the third spot at $44.5 million; he signed a monster nine-year, $360 million extension with the team in December.
Trout also made the list, rounding out Forbes' top five at $39.5 million. Mets veteran star Justin Verlander was fourth at $43.3 million.
Shohei Ohtani was named the runner-up to Judge in MVP voting last season; he finished with 34 home runs and 95 RBIs while posting a 2.33 ERA and 15-9 record over 28 starts.
The MLB phenomenon might be playing his last year in Los Angeles, and he'll be the team's Opening Day starter on Thursday against the Oakland Athletics.
Follow Us
Subscribe