“$900M deal incoming” – Saints star Tyrann Mathieu has big-money prediction for Shohei Ohtani

NFL veteran Tyrann Mathieu has seen plenty of dollar signs in his time in the league, and in a comment posted on social media, he basically threw them all at Angels star Shohei Ohtani. The post was a response to The Sporting News listing the team leaders in a multitude of categories. Out of 13 listed categories, Ohtani led the team in each one.

Mathieu kept his opinion short and easy to digest:

"20 years 900M deal incoming (Crying laughing emoji)"

While it appears he was not serious about the specific numbers, he did clearly indicate that generational wealth is heading Ohtani's way. If Ohtani receives even half of the years and salary, the star's high score in dollars earned from his sport will dwarf the majority of NFL players.

How does Tyrann Mathieu's salary compare to Shohei Ohtani?

Saints star at New Orleans v Atlanta

Currently, the Honey Badger is playing on a $28 million deal over three years. Ohtani is playing on a one-year, $30 million deal that expires at the end of the season. While Mathieu has bragging rights in terms of the length of the deal, the baseball star has the edge in how fast he is getting his money.

Who has earned the most money in sports?

Mike Trout at Los Angeles Angels v Chicago White Sox

Returning to the question of career earnings, assuming Ohtani earns half of Mathieu's prediction, the baseball star will eventually pass the player with the greatest earnings in NFL history. The player? Tom Brady. According to Statista, Brady has earned $332.96 million, which would fall about $100 million short of Ohtani at the end of his deal.

According to Spotrac, the player with the greatest career earnings in the history of the MLB is or will be Mike Trout, who has tallied almost $500 million in earnings. The implication of this is also that while Ohtani would rake in nearly record numbers, he would still not be the richest in the league.

Meanwhile, LeBron James has earned the most money from the NBA. In his career, he has earned about $431 million per Statista. This puts the basketball star in second place between the three leagues. Put simply, Trout and the MLB rank first, James and the NBA rank second, and Brady and the NFL rank third.