The Shohei Ohtani effect: New $700million man passes Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo’s 48-hour jersey sale record… and LA Dodgers overtake the New York Yankees to become most-followed team on Instagram
- His jersey sold out on Fanatics in 48 hours faster than two football legends.
- The Dodgers also now have the largest number of Instagram followers in baseball.
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The immediate impact of Shohei Ohtani’s signing with the Los Angeles Dodgers is being felt by the team in the form of increased social media followers and jersey sales.
Ohtani’s Dodgers jersey broke a long-standing record on sportswear and memorabilia site Fanatics.
There, the Japanese two-way phenomenon broke the site’s record for the most shirts sold in 48 hours, surpassing records previously set by Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo.
Additionally, Ohtani’s signing with the Dodgers helped them become the most followed baseball team on Instagram, just ahead of the New York Yankees.
It’s all part of the media frenzy that has dogged one of the sport’s best athletes in a generation.
Shohei Ohtani broke Fanatics’ record for jersey sales in 48 hours.
His arrival also boosted the Dodgers’ Instagram following to the highest level in the majors.
Last weekend, Ohtani announced his monumental decision to stay in Los Angeles.
Ohtani signed a massive $700 million contract over the weekend, making it the most expensive sports contract in history.
The $700 million he is set to earn is $26 million more than Barcelona paid Messi to play from 2017-2021.
His average annual payout of $70 million is the fifth-highest in sports history, behind Cristiano Ronaldo and Karim Benzema’s deals with their respective Saudi Arabian clubs, the aforementioned Messi deal and boxer Canelo Alvarez’s contract signed with DAZN back in 2018.
But the Japanese star agreed to defer $680 million in payments until the end of the deal – meaning he will be paid an average of $2 million a year for the next ten years before the rest is paid out for another ten years after that.
Ohtani is valuable as both a pitcher and a hitter, but an injury last year will keep him from taking the mound at all next season.
He is expected to return to pitching in 2025.
