How much do the Dodgers owe in deferred payments to Shohei Ohtani, Mookie Betts, Blake Snell & others?

With the signing of Blake Snell, the Los Angeles Dodgers now owe nearly $1 billion in deffered contracts to its current star - $964 million to be exact. Most of it is due to Shohei Ohtani's gigantic $700 million contract he signed last year but also includes significant amount owed to players such as Mookie Betts and Freddie Freeman.

The MLB has no specified limit for how much a team can defer money in the contracts for the players they sign. In the past, there have been some major names - Bobby Bonilla and Max Scherzer - who deferred $76.5 million and $105 million with the Mets and Nationals, respectively.

But the deferred money contract is a ploy that has mostly been used by the Dodgers over the last few years. Their negotiations to sign Gerrit Cole included deferrals in the proposed $300 million contract. Two of their prized signings, Betts and Freeman are owed $172 million contracts. The latter will start earning as soon as his contract expires in 2028.

The sizeable amount that belongs to Ohtani - $68 million a year - will have to be paid by the Dodgers from 2034 to 2043. This has given the team not just financial flexibility but an opportunity to add more stars to their roster by deferring their contracts.

On one hand, the Dodgers can taste the current success, but on the other, they will be mindful when the payments finally kick in. As per the organization's methods, it is expected that it will continue in the same manner in the following decade in order to safeguard its revenue while retaining a strong team.

Dodgers' deferred contract amount dwarfs the rest of the league combined

The Los Angeles Dodgers' amount of $964 million in deferred money is almost four-times the amount the other 29 teams owe their players. This includes top players and teams like Rafael Devers for the Boston Red Sox and Francisco Lindor with the Mets. The rest of the league's deferred money only adds up to $271.5 million.

There have been questions whether the Dodgers should be allowed to do this in the first place. But it is rather the MLB Players Association that has held its position about keeping players' contract choices as flexible as possible. Looking at the Dodgers' success, the deferred money formula is expected to be used by other teams extensively.