Shohei Ohtani, a unique two-way superstar, signed a deferred contract worth $700 million with the Dodgers last winter.
What followed on the field was a dream come true for the Dodgers and their fans. It was Major League Baseball's first 50-50 season, a National League MVP award, and a World Series championship.
What continued off the field was the Dodgers owner's dream. According to Sponsor United, a company that tracks marketing partnerships, the club earned more than $70 million in new sponsorship revenue alone in 24 years alone, not over the entire term of the contract.
The behind-the-bats ads during Dodgers games were sold to companies based in Asia, taking advantage of a huge new market (Japan alone has a population of 124.5 million people, for starters).
Even the Dodgers' opponents responded to calls from Japanese companies seeking advertising space behind the bats for Dodgers road games.
Already having strong attendance, the Dodgers drew more than 100,000 fans than the previous year. Ohtani led the majors in jersey sales for the second year in a row.
The industry consensus is that despite his eye-popping contract, Ohtani will pay for himself simply by competing in the world's spotlight.
His play is just an added bonus.
“Shohei takes the whole country with him,” said Sponsor United CEO Bob Lynch.
Juan Soto, a superstar with unique slugging ability, is expected to sign a contract with Ohtani on the same financial terms as Ohtani in the coming days.
The industry consensus is that he can pay for it too, but only through performance, according to multiple sources inside and outside the game.
If the Dodgers are maximizing Ohtani's revenue stream throughout the year, Soto will need to maximize his revenue in October, when he actually makes money.
“If they keep winning consistently, [the Soto contract] It pays for itself,” said Dennis Mannion, former Dodgers president and CEO.
Soto, who has been a pillar of consistency on the field, is unlikely to pose any risks. Soto ranks sixth in baseball in games played since his debut in 2018.
He rarely misses time or misses pitches. In his statistically worst season in 2022, he posted an OPS of .853, 47% better than the average hitter. He's a free agent, unusually young, and doesn't have much of an injury history.
He's as close to a home run as a free agent can get in a department other than Ohtani.
No one can match Otani's ability to make money.
“Ohtani's case is so outlier that it's crazy,” said a National League team executive.
On the open market, Soto is worth what the Yankees or Mets (or Red Sox, Blue Jays, or Dodgers) would pay him.
But how much return will you get on that investment? The Post covered the league and asked executives inside and outside the game to explore that puzzle. It's an imprecise equation that involves brand growth, business partnerships and the team's desire to play more games in October.
But how much is Juan Soto worth? It's a fun question to think about.
Soto will present a different opportunity to each potential team he could partner with, but some teams will present more opportunities than others.
The Yankees enjoyed Soto's year, but the increase in attendance was modest. When it comes to sponsorships, the Yankees had the ninth-highest new revenue increase in MLB from 2023 to 2024, according to Sponsor United.
For one season, Soto's presence didn't fundamentally change the way the Yankees did business.
“In a sense, they [already] In general, we maximize everything we do with our players, whether that's through ticket sales, hospitality, sponsorship, etc.,” Lynch said of the Yankees. “Keeping him around doesn't necessarily mean that what they're doing from a business operations standpoint is going to be 10%, 20%, 50% better.”
The biggest change Soto made for fans, the club and the business in 2024 was on the field.
In front of Aaron Judge, perhaps the game's most disciplined hitter and perhaps the game's most powerful slugger, the Yankees won the AL East and the AL pennant, but lost to the Dodgers in the World Series. .
As many around the league say, the real money is made in the playoffs.
Qualifying for the World Series and getting an additional nationally televised game with a packed stadium in October could cost a team more than $50 million in prize money (details vary by club and number of games) ).
The team that acquires Soto hopes to compete in the Fall Classic.
“The way to increase revenue is to win and increase demand more than supply,” said David Samson, former president of the Marlins and current host of the podcast “Nothing Personal with David Samson.” “And there are very few teams in that position. Even the Yankees don't have a full house every game. And their TV contract is their TV contract. It depends on whether Soto comes back or not. I haven’t.”
Signing Soto to a long-term deal would take the 26-year-old into at least his late 30s, by which time he would likely reach a milestone and receive more attention.
Over seven seasons, Soto has hit 201 total home runs.
If he averages 30 home runs a season under his 15-year contract, he would reach 651 home runs over the course of his contract, jumping to seventh place on the all-time list and closing in on Willie Mays (660).
These are the kinds of records Soto could approach and fans would be interested in seeing. The same goes for celebrating Hall of Fame inductions and inductions into Monument Park.
“it is, [business] It’s a formula,” the American League team manager said.
In Soto's one season in pinstripes, wins brought him high praise, a longer season, and higher stakes. Winning leads to expectations of winning, and the Yankees already have some expectations of winning.
Further expectations could justify a price increase.
“It's all about the sustainability of your base and your ability to leverage it,” said Mannion, who is now CEO and president of sports advisory firm House of Seven. “When prices go up, for example, suites go up in price in high-end areas. Club seats go up. Anything else that's premium that you create can go up in price.”
“There's a halo effect,” said a former New York baseball club owner. “Season ticket renewals are crazy expensive. Your new sales will be high. …People want access to postseason tickets, so you'll sell more tickets, and season ticket holders will have more tickets to sell. can get it first.”
A long-term deal with Soto could give the team more revenue from Spanish-language broadcasts featuring players from the Dominican Republic.
But in terms of ballpark attendance, the Yankees, in Soto's first year, won't see the kind of surge that happens when, say, the Cardinals or Royals inject a star player on a Hall of Fame trajectory into their daily lineup. I couldn't.
Game officials say a team like the Mets could benefit slightly from the Yankees in terms of attendance, ratings, attention and sponsorship opportunities.
“The Mets probably have more room to grow,” an AL executive said.
“I believe the Mets can continue to establish themselves in this market, and there are upsides there,” said Joe Favorito, a longtime marketing and business development consultant and lecturer at Columbia University. spoke. “I think from a global perspective, you think of the Yankees and the Dallas Cowboys in terms of, if you go to any city in the world, people know what the New York Yankees are. New York. I don't think that's the case with the Mets, but that's the way it's going.”
The Mets are on a surprising and heartwarming run to the NLCS, but it's also been a season in which the club has struggled at times to draw fans to Queens. Not only did they not make the playoffs, but the attendance in 2024 was nearly 250,000 fewer than in 2023, when they had a trade deadline sale.
Under manager Steve Cohen, the Mets' ticket sales and sales staff have been encouraged to be as creative as possible. Grimace is now part of your 2024 marketing strategy. They will no doubt enjoy the publicity Soto will steal from their crosstown rival.
“The Mets have historically been a challenger brand in the New York market,” Lynch said. “And it makes you more creative, [brainstorms of]: How can we be more aggressive? How are we doing different things in the partnership space?
“…How can we make this person the center of everything we do?”
It helps that Soto has shown a willingness to be at the plate off the field. Marketing experts noted that a recent Celsius energy drink ad generated more engagement than all of Soto's branded social posts in the past year combined.
With about 1.75 million followers on Instagram, X and TikTok combined, the bilingual Soto ranks 14th among MLB players, but is the sixth fastest-growing in terms of annual growth, according to Sponsor United. It is said that there is
Soto is a top talent with the best skill set, brings the most entertainment to the plate, and makes even the pitches that turn into balls look theatrical.
Star power helps, of course, but he lacks the global clout to ensure the money from his mega-contract goes back into the owners' pockets.
That may be true, but only one baseball player can join a new team with that kind of guarantee.
Either is fine.
“No team looks at it that way. No team signs a free agent contract saying, 'I'll only sign this player if he pays me,'” Samson said. ”
