There is seemingly no barrier Shohei Ohtani can't break after a report Tuesday projected the Los Angeles Angels two-way superstar's total income in 2023 to reach an MLB record of $70 million.
Ohtani will earn an estimated $40 million in endorsement income this year, sports business website Sportico reported. His $30 million deal for this season surpassed the record pre-free agency $27 million deal given in 2020 to Mookie Betts, who Ohtani retired in the ninth inning of last week's World Baseball Classic final.
The article said Ohtani's endorsement earnings are on a level reserved for global football and basketball icons.
A Forbes magazine report Monday calculated Ohtani's off-field income this year at $35 million, which would still set an MLB record for annual earnings.
"Shohei's commercial impact annually for the Japanese market will be to the tune of tens of millions of dollars because he is a cultural icon in Japan first and a baseball player second," Chris Davis, New Balance's chief marketing officer, told Forbes.
"He'll probably be the first and only baseball player of this generation that has the ability to have that level of commercial impact for a brand."
According to Forbes, the MLB player ranked second behind Ohtani in endorsement income this year is New York Yankees outfielder Aaron Judge at $4.5 million.
Sportico said while Ohtani may not be as recognizable in the U.S. as some American athletes, such as golfer Tiger Woods and former NFL quarterback Tom Brady, he is definitely on the rise.
Ohtani saved Japan's 3-2 WBC championship game victory over the United States by getting Betts to hit into a double play and striking out Mike Trout, whose MLB record $426.5 million 12-year contract Ohtani will likely surpass when he enters free agency after this season.
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