There’s almost too much happening in baseball right now between MLB divisional races heating up, an impending lockout looming and Los Angeles Dodgers owner Mark Walter facing financial hardship.
Unless you live underneath a rock, you’ve probably heard that billionaire sports owner Mark Walter is facing a major federal investigation into billions in undisclosed loans tied to his insurance companies. He liquidated his ownership stake in the Los Angeles Lakers, selling them for $12.5 billion. Even though the Dodgers aren’t for sale, their sweeter-than-cream television deal that allows them to lead MLB in payroll is under a fine tooth comb.
If Walter is forced to sell the Dodgers, it is unlikely to cost them Ohtani, but the international superstar would hold all of the leverage in that situation.
Ohtani’s contract has a unique “key man” opt-out clause, allowing him to become a free agent if controlling owner Mark Walter or president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman departs the organization. Obviously, if Walter is forced to sell, Ohtani would be able to exercise this clause and get out of his $700 million deal. Even though ESPN reported that Ohtani is considered unlikely to ever exercise that clause, it’s worth mentioning that it was ever inserted into the contract in the first place.
Professional sports franchises get bought and sold all the time. Executives get hired, fired and depart organizations every season. So, why did the Dodgers add this key man opt-out clause to Ohtani’s contract? Were they covering themselves in case they wouldn’t be able to afford his $700 million deal, especially if Walter had to liquidate assets elsewhere?
It’s important to remember that Walter isn’t facing any charges in this situation. He also hasn’t expressed interest in selling the Dodgers.
But the sale of the Lakers moved really quickly. And there’s no denying that losing Ohtani would be a devastating blow for Los Angeles.
Regardless of what happens with Walter’s business affairs, the Dodgers are going to come into focus over the next few months. Even though they’ve struggled to stack wins over the recent weeks, they have the most loaded roster in MLB that just added two-time Cy Young winner Tarik Skubal at the deadline.
Ahead of an expected work stoppage to implement salary caps and floors, the Dodgers are eying for their third-straight World Series victory. Financial oddities aside, Los Angeles has a significantly higher payroll than the other 29 teams in baseball. That’s something that’s going to be addressed before next season, and it could be the reason why the start of baseball is delayed next spring.
