Shohei Ohtani Has Tripled His Endorsement Income

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Los Angeles Angels two-way sensation Shohei Ohtani is set to earn more than $20 million from endorsements in 2022, according to Justin Birnbaum at Forbes.

That’s 3x the $6.5 million that Bryce Harper is expected to earn from his endorsements this year—he’s #2 on the list—and it makes the 27-year-old Japanese superstar the highest-paid MLB player off the field in more than a decade.

Even crazier, that’s also nearly triple what Ohtani made from endorsements in 2021.

Shohei Ohtani “Off-the-Field” Income

• 2021: $6 million

• 2022: $20 million (+233%)

But Shohei Ohtani didn’t make Forbes’ annual list of highest-paid MLB players because the Los Angeles Angels will only pay him $5.5 million in 2022, making him just the 236th highest-paid MLB player this season.

Highest-paid MLB Players 2022 (On-Field + Off-Field)

1. Max ScherzerOn-Field: $58.3 millionOff-Field: $1 million———————————Total Earnings: $59.3 million

2. Mike TroutOn-Field: $35.5 millionOff-Field: $3.5 million———————————Total Earnings: $39 million

3. Corey SeagerOn-Field: $37.5 millionOff-Field: $1 million———————————Total Earnings: $38.5 million

4. Gerrit ColeOn-Field: $36 millionOff-Field: $0.5 million———————————Total Earnings: $36.5 million

5. Anthony RendonOn-Field: $36 millionOff-Field: $0.2 million———————————Total Earnings: $36.2 million

But with Shohei Ohtani entering his fifth full season—MLB requires players to accumulate six years of big-league service time before they qualify for free agency—he will be eligible to hit the open market after the 2023 season.

If he stays healthy and productive, he will be in for a massive payday at 29-years-old.

We all know the sports world moves quickly. It’s one sport to another, one headline to the next, and so forth. But it doesn’t feel like we are all that far removed from when ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith said Shohei Ohtani couldn’t be the face of baseball because he “needs an interpreter so you can understand what the hell he’s saying.”

Here’s the full quote from July 2021:

Stephen A. Smith apologized for that, of course. He said that his intention was not to make insensitive comments about Ohtani’s ethnicity or background and was more speaking to what he believes is good for the growth of baseball in America specifically.

I don’t think it’s worth re-hashing that comment. He apologized. He called Ohtani “one of the brightest stars in all of sports,” and most importantly, he was just flat-out wrong.

Shohei Ohtani is the best thing to happen to baseball in a decade. He was the most-searched player on MLB Film Room in 2021, both domestically and internationally. He played in all 10 of the highest-viewed MLB regular-season games last year. He hit 46 home runs and posted a 3.18 ERA over 130 innings pitched, becoming just the 19th player in history to be unanimously selected as the American League's Most Valuable Player.

Now combine that with his global appeal given his Japanese nationality, and he has probably been an even bigger hit off the field.

Ohtani has signed 15+ endorsement deals with companies like Asics, Fanatics, Hugo Boss, Oakley, Panini, Seiko, Topps, and others. He has taken an equity stake in crypto exchange FTX. He was named the cover athlete of Sony’s MLB The Show 22 video game, and he has even appeared on GQ, Sports Illustrated, and TIME magazine covers.

He is the first MLB player to appear on the cover of TIME magazine in nearly 20 years.

But Shohei Ohtani’s impact is far more significant than just magazine & video game covers.

Matt Monagan wrote an article for MLB.com last year that was fascinating. He spoke with people in Ohtani’s hometown of Oshu City, Japan, and revealed some of the ways they choose to honor him.

• The 17th of each month is known as “Ohtani Day,” and everyone in the town wears Shohei Ohtani’s #17 Angels t-shirt or jersey.

• Shohei Ohtani’s likeness has been made into “rice paddy art.”

• They created a replica of Shohei Ohtani’s hand with lasers so “those who visit the city can shake his hand or look at it.”

Shohei Ohtani’s games are also viewable on TVs throughout the city, and they even manually update his hitting and pitching stats on a board in City Hall each day.

I doubt much of this is a surprise to any of you. Through athletes like Naomi Osaka and Hideki Matsuyama, we have seen how popular Japanese superstars can become domestically and internationally. And therefore, how much money they can command.

For example, Naomi Osaka is just 24 years old and is already the highest-paid female athlete in sports history, bringing in more than $55 million off-the-court last year alone.

Instead, I think the interesting part is just how far baseball has fallen behind.

When you look at virtually every other major sports league, the top athletes are making significantly more money off the field than their MLB peers (h/t Forbes).

2021 Highest-Earners By Sport (Off-Field Income Only)

• Conor McGregor: $158 million

• Roger Federer: $90 Million

• LeBron James: $65 Million

• Tiger Woods: $60 million

• Naomi Osaka: $55 million

• Cristiano Ronaldo: $50 million

Sure, Shohei Ohtani’s $20 million annual endorsement income is nothing to sneeze at, but when you compare it to the most famous athletes in other sports leagues globally, it certainly falls short. And it’s even worse when you remember that Bryce Harper is the second on the list at $6.5 million in annual endorsement income.

There’s nuance to this, of course. The top MLB players make a lot of money on the field. They spend the majority of the game away from the camera. Their fanbase continues to skew towards an older generation, and virtually all marketing data shows that individual athletes are much more marketable than team athletes.

But it’ll be interesting to see how this changes over time. Is Shohei Ohtani capable of shifting the narrative for everyone? My guess is as good as yours, and only time will tell. But I think it’s hard to argue that he is no longer the face of baseball — he is.

I hope everyone has a great day, and we’ll talk tomorrow.

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