In the latest episode of the New Heights podcast, Kansas City Chiefs’ Travis Kelce and Philadelphia Eagles’ Jason Kelce discussed Shohei Ohtani’s jaw-dropping $700 million deal with the Los Angeles Dodgers.
Travis, expressing his disbelief, exclaimed, “Dodgers, what in the f**k is going on in this world? Ohtani just went to the other side of LA to play some baseball for the next 10 years um a 10-year $700 million. The deal is the biggest in team sports history.”
The deal, he emphasized, is the biggest in the history of team sports.
The Kelce brothers then delved into their perspectives on baseball and spoke about their aversion due to the lack of action and the tedious conditioning routines in the sport.
Travis stated:
“CJ Strad recently stated Basketball players want to be Football players, and Football players want to be Basketball players.”
He continued:
“I definitely want to play basketball, and I don’t really want to play baseball, though it’s a lot of money. I need more action, man. This is why we didn’t like it growing up. It’s not a fun sport for kids, in my opinion, unless you get a good team. Unless you’re pitching or catching, it’s a boring day. You get, what, four at-bats, and you’re sitting in right field. Maybe some right field in little league is not fun; you’re just out there in right.”
Then, Jason says:
“When I was younger, baseball was my least favorite sport. Now that I’m older, I really wish I would have kept playing baseball because, man, it looks like a much easier job for much more pay.”
However, Travis says:
“I don’t want the easier job; I want the more fun one. I’m going to play basketball, uh, hockey. Hockey’s another one I’d play. I’d play hockey over baseball, and honestly, if I were any good at golf, that would probably be the one that I chose. Hockey was great; I would love to do that.”
The conversation took an analytical turn as Travis compared Ohtani’s mega-deal with contracts in other sports, including those of Lionel Messi, Patty Mahomes, and Steph Curry.
He criticized the way contracts are valued and presented in the media, pointing out the disparity in actual earnings.
“Insane is the $700 million contract in other sports worlds. Lionel Messi had a $674 million five-year deal with Barcelona back in the day,” said Travis.
He further explained:
“Our guy Patty Mahomes signed a $450 million deal for 10 years, and then Steph Curry was one of the next highest at $215 million for just four years. It’s a damn good pay. Well, this is why I hate the way we value contracts because, really, if you take the per-year average, Messi has the highest contract ever signed—$674 million over five years and half the amount of time. He almost made $700 million. What are you talking about? Over 100 million? Yeah, like I just think the way contracts get listed in the media is stupid.”
The discussion then shifted to the unique deferred payment structure of Ohtani’s contract.
Note: As per Athletic, Ohtani has agreed to defer all but $2 million of his annual salary—$68 million of his $70 million per year—until after the completion of the contract. The deferred money is to be paid out without interest from 2034 to 2043.
Before wrapping up, the Kelce brothers praised Ohtani’s skills, predicting a surge in two-way players in Major League Baseball (MLB) attempting to emulate Ohtani’s versatility.
While hailing Shohei, Travis explained:
“He comes over here, arguably one of the greatest baseball players ever to do it, signs $700 million over the next 10 years, man. Um, yeah, I think it’s, you know, what it is. I think it’s gonna change baseball. I think we’re going to see a lot more two-way players growing up or coming up in the MLB. I think you’re going to see a lot more of these guys trying to put it all on their back, do everything. The dude is unbelievable. If it gets you $700 million over the next 10 years, you’re going to see other players try and do it, that’s for damn sure.”
In the end, both the Kelce brothers agreed that this groundbreaking $700 million deal might be the start of a new era in baseball.
Shohei Ohtani is set to make his debut with the Los Angeles Dodgers as they face off against the San Diego Padres on Wednesday, March 20. The game will take place in Seoul, South Korea, with a scheduled start time of 6 a.m. Eastern Time.
