Shohei Ohtani

In December 2023, Shohei Otani signed a $10-year, $700-million-dollar contract with the Los Angeles Dodgers. It was the largest contract in the history of professional sports, but it was not the headline figure that made the deal revolutionary. It was the structure of the $700-million, $680-million was deferred. Otani would earn just $2-million-a-year in base salary over the life of the contract. The remaining $680-million would be paid out in equal installments over 10 years after the contract ended from 2034 through 2043. He essentially lent the Dodgers $680-million-dollar interest free. For the Dodgers, the structure was a masterstroke of roster engineering. Major League Baseball calculates its competitive balance tax based on a team's annual payroll.