"I chose the LA Dodgers as my next team. I'm sorry it took so long to make a decision."

He revealed his destination through SNS himself before the media's final report came out.

Ohtani signed a mega 10-year, 700 million-dollar contract with the Dodgers. The deal instantly surpassed the 12-year, 426.5 million-dollar contract that was previously the highest paid by the Los Angeles Angels, and signed the world's largest sports contract ever, even exceeding the "soccer emperor" Lionel Messi.

It is surprising that he signed a $700 million contract well beyond the expectation of up to $600 million, but what is more surprising is the terms of the contract. Details are not yet known, but Ohtani has been found to have chosen the way of paying a large portion of his salary with the Dodgers later.

The way Ohtani first proposed to the Dodgers is to receive a portion of the total salary after retirement or after the contract expires. The club can split the salary to Ohtani, the highest-paid player, over a long period of time and pay him as an "annual installment," and at the same time be relatively free from salary cap management. Rather, having Ohtani gives it the leeway to recruit other good players.

Ohtani reportedly said, "I don't want my salary to be a shackle for the club, and I hope I can get it as a postpaid so that the team can reinforce its power." "Ohtani will receive most of his total annual salary as a postpaid," reported Jeff Bankruptcy, an ESPN reporter.

In fact, the club's benefit is greater than that of the player. Although there is a burden of paying the player an annual salary for a long time, it is possible to consume it deliberately while avoiding luxury tax. In addition, players may suffer losses when considering inflation and interest rates over time. Nevertheless, Ohtani's method was a way to greatly ease the burden on the Dodgers.

Although the annual salary postponement method is not very common, it is a form of contract that often occurs in Major League Baseball. It has existed since the 1980s in Major League Baseball, and the most famous example was Bobbi Bonilla's contract with the New York Mets. Bonilla retired in 2001, but is paid $1.19 million (about 1.5 billion won) annually until 2035, when he turns 72. Another Dodgers superstar, Mookie Betts, also signed a 24-year salary split through 2044.

In some cases, the player turned it down. During the 2018 season, the Washington Nationals offered star Bryce Harper (now Philadelphia Phillies) a contract extension that guarantees payment through 2072. Had he signed the contract, Harper would have been able to earn an annual salary from Philadelphia until he was 80. However, Harper refused, saying he did not want to be paid until he was over 65, and he later moved to another team.

If so, will such an annual salary contract be possible in the KBO League? In conclusion, it is a question mark. No club or player has inquired about the contract, and there has been no such case. In addition, related regulations are not clearly set.

There are two types of big contracts currently being signed: FA contract or non-FA multi-year contract. The biggest contractor in the history of the KBO League is catcher Yang Eui-ji. When Yang Eui-ji signed a contract with his former team Doosan Bears to return to the FA one year ago, he set a new record of up to 15.2 billion won in 4+2 years.

Looking at Yang Eui-ji's contract details, the down payment of 4.4 billion won for the first four years was paid in a lump sum. And over four years, the total annual salary of 6.6 billion won is divided into payments. The guaranteed amount for four years is 11 billion won, including the down payment and annual salary. And after the end of the 2026 season, when the fourth season ends, +2 years can be realized, during which you can receive up to 4.2 billion won, including incentives for options agreed upon by each other. The exact amount of guarantee is unknown to the outside world.

Yang Eui-ji's contract form is the most common and common content in the KBO League. It consists of down payment and incentives according to annual salary and options. There was no case of 'pay later' or 'pay after retirement'.

A KBO official said, "If the current player and the club sign a contract, they must follow the unification contract. It is a contract that applies the same form, and it specifies the payment date on which the money is received. Since "the number of days per month" is written, in the case of Fujibul, it is necessary to discuss whether it is possible or not by looking at related regulations."

Until now, neither the players nor the club felt the need for Fujibul. In addition, since the size of the contract itself was much smaller than that of the Major League, there was no reason for the players to sign a contract that could cause damage. However, there is no guarantee from now on. If players' ransom is increasing, clubs want various types of contracts, and players want a long-term contract that allows them to be paid stably for a long time, large-scale annual pay-as-you-go contracts can emerge.  

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