Brian Cashman Says Shohei Ohtani Never Offered Yankees Deferred Contract Option

Doric SamFebruary 16, 2024

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The historic amount of deferrals in Shohei Ohtani’s contract with the Los Angeles Dodgers was his idea, but it sounds like he didn’t offer the same opportunity to other teams that pursued him this offseason.

New York Yankees general manager Brian Cashman said during an appearance on Talkin’ Yanks that he wasn’t offered the same deal by Ohtani.

“That’s like a once-in-a-lifetime situation,” Cashman said. “I can’t imagine how you propose a contract like that with all those deferrals, but it made sense when he said it came from Ohtani. So, no, there was nothing presented to me like that. Never, ever in my history.”

Talkin’ Yanks @TalkinYanksBrian Cashman was shocked to hear about Ohtani’s deferrals and said it was never offered to him pic.twitter.com/9MQdbQoQek

Ohtani agreed to a record-setting 10-year, $700 million contract with the Dodgers. The Athletic’s Fabian Ardaya reported that he agreed to defer all but $2 million of his $70 million annual salary, meaning he will receive $68 million yearly from 2034 to 2043.

While $680 million is a whopping amount of money to give up for the next decade, Ohtani has the benefit of making an estimated $50 million annually from endorsements and other off-field ventures, per Ardaya. It was said that the deferrals were Ohtani’s way of helping the Dodgers “continue spending around stars” like himself, Mookie Betts and Freddie Freeman.

The Yankees certainly could have used a splashy addition like Ohtani after they went 82-80 last season and fell short of the playoffs. New York landed a trade with the San Diego Padres for star outfielder Juan Soto, who is entering the final year of his contract, and that was the most significant move by the team this offseason. The Yankees whiffed on their pursuit of coveted pitcher Yoshinobu Yamamoto and star closer Josh Hader, among others.

New York is far removed from the days when it was the premiere free-agent destination due to its extravagant spending. Perhaps Cashman and company will fare better next offseason.