Shohei Ohtani transformed the Dodgers’ economy into an advertising ecosystem that revolves around him: 127 million dollars in revenue, contracts with giants such as Uniqlo and Daiso, collaborations that sell out in minutes and collectibles that sell for up to 3 million dollars. Everyone wants a piece of baseball’s biggest goldmine.
The Japanese star functions as a sponsorship machine that has not stopped growing since his signing to the club with the most stars in Major League Baseball (MLB), after signing a historic $700 million, 10-year contract upon his arrival in December 2023.
Although he only receives $2 million in direct salary a year for his decision to defer the bulk of his salary, his fortune climbs to a record $127 million in off-field business, according to a Forbes report published last March.
Asia’s most profitable icon
His face represents Asia’s most valuable asset, competing only with India’s cricket idol Virat Kohli in terms of massive influence, although Ohtani dominates the global market, with an image projected on Japan Airlines fuselages or luxury campaigns such as Kose, which shoot up sales of Seiko watches
Both on and off the field, ‘Ohtani-mania’ has seen a massive influx of Japanese brands seeking the Dodgers’ international exposure, such as Uniqlo, which signed a five-year naming rights deal worth more than $125 million, according to the Los Angeles Times.
The Los Angeles club has broken a 64-year tradition by accepting its first corporate sponsorship linked to the name of the venue, naming the playing surface ‘Uniqlo Field at Dodger Stadium’ from this season.”It’s not so common to see a player at such a level, who hits and pitches at the same time (…) and even more so being a player from Japan for a game that is said to be American,” Roberto, a baseball fan who visited the stadium this week to watch a Dodgers game, told EFE
This sponsorship drive is joined by retail giant Daiso with an alliance to have its logo dominate every interview and press conference of the Japanese star, ensuring its visibility on television in millions of homes
The Ohtani fever reaches its peak in the stadium stores, with consumption also capitalizing on his name in the limited edition $75 glasses that sell out every day. There are also collaborations with icons such as Yoshi, from the Japanese multinational Nintendo, which took advantage of the phenomenon of ‘The Super Mario Galaxy Movie’ to launch exclusive collections with the famous video game character wearing the jersey with the number 17, that of Ohtani
Collecting has also entered a luxury bubble following the recent auction of a unique Ohtani card autographed and with the MLB logo patch in gold for $3 million. The combination of these astronomical figures shoots the value of the Dodgers to $7.8 billion, consolidating itself as the second most valuable franchise in the league
The team, the reigning MLB champion for the second year in a row, has managed to halve its historic gap with the New York Yankees, who lead the standings with 8.5 billion dollars, according to Forbes figures.
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