The Los Angeles Dodgers are world champions, but success isn’t coming cheap.
After beating the New York Yankees in the World Series, LA has recently agreed to new, lucrative contracts with free-agent pitcher Blake Snell and returning infielder Tommy Edman – deals that push the club’s total deferred payments to more than $1 billion for just seven players.
Snell’s $182 million contract, announced Saturday , includes $66 million in deferred money payable to the pitcher through July 1, 2046, according to contract terms obtained by The Associated Press. He’ll receive a $52 million signing bonus, payable on January 25, and annual salaries of $26 million, of which $13.2 million each year will be deferred. The deferred money is payable in equal installments each July 1 from 2035-46.
And because Snell is a Washington state resident, the signing bonus will not be subject to California income tax.
Meanwhile Edman’s $74 million, five-year deal, announced Friday , includes $25 million payable to the infielder and outfielder through July 1, 2044.
Los Angeles now owes deferred payments of $1,006,500,000 to seven players from 2028-46. And that figure could grow if the Dodgers fan find a way to lure free-agent slugger Juan Soto to the west coast. Soto could be worth something approaching $700 million – the same sum the team gave to Shohei Ohtani before the season, much of which is deferred.
Blake Snell and girlfriend Haeley Mar pose for a photo after he signed his nine-figure deal in LA
Soto is rumored to be in the market for a $700 million deal. Can the Dodgers afford that too?
Both Soto and Snell are represented by MLB super agent, Scott Boras.
Deferred payments are becoming the norm in Major League Baseball, where the New York Mets are routinely mocked for their annual $1 million payments to retired All-Star Bobby Bonilla.
But these days, such deals are now commonplace because they give teams short-term payroll flexibility and help players to navigate difficult state-income tax situations.
It also helps the Dodgers reduce luxury tax payments. For example, by amortizing the contract over several decades, Snell’s average annual salary is discounted to about $31.4 million annually for the Dodgers’ luxury tax payroll and Edman to approximately $12.9 million.
Los Angeles has a $10 million conditional club option for 2023 that could be exercised if Snell has a qualifying injury as specified in the contract and he spends 90 or more consecutive days on the injured list due to the qualifying injury and he has not been traded.
If Snell is traded, he would receive a $5 million assignment bonus, payable by the acquiring team.
He also gets a hotel suite on road trips.
Tommy Edman celebrates as he reaches home plate after his solo home run in Game 2
Ohtani won his first World Series after signing a backloaded $700m deal with the Dodgers
Edman receives a $17 million signing bonus payable on Dec. 10, a $5 million salary next year and $12.25 million in each of the final four seasons, of which $6.25 million annually will be deferred. The Dodgers have a $13 million option for 2030 with a $3 million buyout.
Edman’s deferred money for each year will be paid in three installments, with each payment due on July 1:
for 2026, $2.5 million each in 2035 and 2036, and $1.25 million in 2037.
for 2027, $1.25 million in 2037, and $2.5 million each in 2038 and 2039.
for 2028, $2.5 million each in 2040 and 2041, and $1.25 million in 2042.
for 2029, $1.25 million in 2042 and $2.5 million each in 2043 and 2044.
Snell and Edman each will make a 1-percent charitable contribution from his salary.
Ohtani, the reigning National League MVP, is due $680 million from 2034-43 as part of a record $700 million, 10-year contract through 2033.
Infielder/outfielder Mookie Betts is owed $115 million in salaries from 2033-44 and the final $5 million of his signing bonus payable from 2033-35, all part of a $365 million, 12-year contract through 2032.
First baseman Freddie Freeman is owed $57 million from 2028-40 in a $162 million, six-year contract through 2027.
Catcher Will Smith is due $50 million payable from 2034-43 as part of a $140 million, 10-year contract through 2033.
Outfielder Teoscar Hernández will get $8.5 million from 2030-39 as part of a $23.5 million, one-year deal for 2024.
