Chris Russo's Rant About Shohei Ohtani's Contract Is Perfect
The structure of Shohei Ohtani's new 10-year, $700 million contract with the Los Angeles Dodgers has many in the sports world fired up. Yes, I'm one of them. But the most comprehensive rant on the subject came from Chris "Mad Dog" Russo during his radio show on Monday.
Here's what Russo had to say about it:
Mad Dog Russo is in disbelief when he learns that the Dodgers deferred $680M of Shohei Ohtani's $700M contract.
— Funhouse (@BackAftaThis) December 12, 2023
The highlights...
• It is a disgrace.
• The sport is a joke.
• Rob Manfred should overrule it.
• Just give the Dodgers every superstar. pic.twitter.com/3LHKaCEMoe
I do find it funny that a guy employed by MLB Network is dumping on the way MLB has allowed this to happen.
Russo is right that the structure of Ohtani's new deal is a blatant attempt to subvert the league's competitive balance rules. It's a trick to allow the Dodgers to go out and sign other, high-priced players. While it's not against the rules, it is a big-market, big-money team exploiting what is essentially a loophole. And it's a loophole teams in smaller markets wouldn't be able to take advantage of to that degree.
Now, look, Ohtani was probably always going to the Dodgers. They were always the odds-on favorite for his services. I'm not sure many people are all that upset about his choice. But the contract details have a lot of people angry. Russo among them.