As loaded financially the Los Angeles Dodgers are, even they have money situations to address. Notably $1 billion in deferred payments with Teoscar Hernandez and Shohei Ohtani among the names mentioned.
The 2024 World Series champions owe $1.051 billion in deferred pay to at least eight different players, according to the Associated Press Wednesday. These payments go into effect between 2028 and can end in 2046.
The AP report revealed that the Dodgers’ highest payment point for 2038 and 2039 is $100.95 million. The report adds how “Major League Baseball proposed during collective bargaining on June 21, 2021, to put an end to the practice, but the players’ association rejected the change.”
So now, L.A. must defer pay to the eight players starting in ’28. MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred spoke out a week ago about the Dodgers’ situation, in a letter obtained by the AP.
“The Dodgers have gone out and done everything possible, always within the rules that currently exist, to put the best possible team on the field and that’s a great thing for the game. That type of competitive spirit is what people want to see,” Manfred said.
However: “By the same token, it’s clear that we have fans in some markets that are concerned about the ability of the team in their market to compete with the financial resources of the Dodgers.”
Manfred adds he and the MLB are trying to listen to those fans when it comes to financial topics like this one.
Do the Dodgers owe money to 2 of their own?
Hernandez and Tanner Scott surfaced first as two members of the Dodgers in the AP report.
Scott signed a mega four-year, $72 million contract back in January. His deal also includes a $20 million signing bonus.
Hernandez, meanwhile, agreed to sign off on a three-year, $66 million contract — with the deal finalized also in January.
The left-fielder is owed a total of $32 million in deferred pay. Though he was already due $8.5 million as part of the one-year, $23.5 million deal he signed in 2024. Ten equal installments arrive to Hernandez between July 1, 2030 to 2039.
Two more Dodgers stars are mentioned in the defer payment plan. Ohtani has $680 million from 2034 to ’43 owed. Mookie Betts has $115 million owed in salaries from 2033 to ’44.
The Dodgers’ deferred obligations rise to $4 million by 2028. But the numbers climb by 2030.
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