Blake Snell to Dodgers: 5 years, $182 million

Hank Scorpio

Member
SoSH Member
Apr 1, 2013
8,002
Salem, NH
I really hope the next CBA really fucks the Dodgers hard by a) making any deferred money count towards the luxury tax now, and b) raising the tax penalty on those contracts to like 300%.
 

radsoxfan

Member
SoSH Member
Aug 9, 2009
14,610
I really hope the next CBA really fucks the Dodgers hard by a) making any deferred money count towards the luxury tax now, and b) raising the tax penalty on those contracts to like 300%.
Deferred $ counts towards the luxury tax now.

Ohtani's 10 year 700M nearly all deferred contract is really worth 10/460M. The luxury tax hit it 46M per year, starting now, as it should be.

Snell's contract is not going to be worth 5/182 per reports. If the deferred $ makes is really worth 5/150 in present day value, his luxury tax # will be 30M per year. No one is cheating anything, players can take whatever deferred $ they want if it makes them feel better.

Luxury tax is based on how much the contract is actually worth.
 

Hank Scorpio

Member
SoSH Member
Apr 1, 2013
8,002
Salem, NH
Deferred $ counts towards the luxury tax now.

Ohtani's 10 year 700M nearly all deferred contract is really worth 10/460M. The luxury tax hit it 46M per year, starting now, as it should be.

Snell's contract is not going to be worth 5/182 per reports. If the deferred $ makes is really worth 5/150 in present day value, his luxury tax # will be 30M per year. No one is cheating anything, players can take whatever deferred $ they want if it makes them feel better.

Luxury tax is based on how much the contract is actually worth.
They should change it so Ohtani’s contract counts as $70M AAV.
 

barbed wire Bob

crippled by fear
SoSH Member
I really hope the next CBA really fucks the Dodgers hard by a) making any deferred money count towards the luxury tax now, and b) raising the tax penalty on those contracts to like 300%.
Why? Any team can do what the Dodgers are doing now. It’s not like the deferrals are giving them an unfair advantage.
Deferred $ counts towards the luxury tax now.

Ohtani's 10 year 700M nearly all deferred contract is really worth 10/460M. The luxury tax hit it 46M per year, starting now, as it should be.

Snell's contract is not going to be worth 5/182 per reports. If the deferred $ makes is really worth 5/150 in present day value, his luxury tax # will be 30M per year. No one is cheating anything, players can take whatever deferred $ they want if it makes them feel better.

Luxury tax is based on how much the contract is actually worth.
. The advantage the Dodgers have is they can easily afford to pay the luxury tax due to the amount of money they have behind them and the amount they are raking in.
 

radsoxfan

Member
SoSH Member
Aug 9, 2009
14,610
They should change it so Ohtani’s contract counts as $70M AAV.
That shows a fundamental misunderstanding of what deferred $ is.

Why would something worth 46M be taxed as if its worth 70M?

Ohtani signed a 10/460M contract. Thats it. The sooner people realize the 700M number is entirely meaningless, the better off everyone will be.
 
Last edited:

DeadlySplitter

Member
SoSH Member
Oct 20, 2015
35,926
I don't really get the signing bonus, dont' think it affects anything for luxury tax line.

Snell I guess wants a lot of his bag now? Going to live it up in LA?

EDIT: I'm reading signing bonuses count as what the luxury tax dollars would be at the end of the contract?

EDIT2: Might be more about avoiding CA state taxes
 
Last edited:

simplicio

Member
SoSH Member
Apr 11, 2012
9,033
I don't really get the signing bonus, dont' think it affects anything for luxury tax line.

Snell I guess wants a lot of his bag now? Going to live it up in LA?
If it's heavy on deferrals and he won't start seeing the bulk of the contract for a decade I could see the appeal.
 

BigSoxFan

Member
SoSH Member
May 31, 2007
49,112
If it's heavy on deferrals and he won't start seeing the bulk of the contract for a decade I could see the appeal.
Yeah, I think that’s the trade off. Give me more upfront and I’ll let you defer a decent chunk on the back end.
 

Kenny F'ing Powers

posts way less than 18% useful shit
SoSH Member
Nov 17, 2010
14,929
Because it circumvents the rules in place. I'm so fucking sick of the "it's technically accurate" beurocratic bullshit. If someone gets paid 50M over 5 years, it's fucking 10M a year for the next 5 years. Lawyers and agents can suck my ass.
 
Last edited:

Remagellan

Well-Known Member
Lifetime Member
SoSH Member
LA is sunny year-round, Boston isn't. Some people prefer that, others prefer the seasons. Once the money gets to a certain level, where someone wants to spend their prime years matters more than the money. What's the point of having hundreds of millions of dollars if you live in some place that makes you miserable? No rational person would choose that. Basically, get over yourself if you want to whine about people signing in LA for the weather or staying on the West Coast, or Texas for the tax advantages, or someplace else because they want to be close to family or their favorite hunting/fishing areas or whatever. Different people have different priorities. Such is life.

If Soto takes the Sox money over similar offers from both NY teams because of how the city embraced Papi and Pedro, no one here is going to cry about our team exploiting its unfair advantage...except maybe those in the MFY forum.
 

joe dokes

Member
SoSH Member
Jul 18, 2005
32,679
Maybe he's beyond the "injury nexus," as I think BP used to call it. Maybe.
 
Last edited:

pdub

Member
SoSH Member
Jun 2, 2007
558
I think Blake wanted to stay in California, given the last few teams he played for. I'm glad he's taken because I did not want Boston to sign him. Good player but I'm just not sure he would tick off our boxes.
 

CarolinaBeerGuy

Don't know him from Adam
SoSH Member
Mar 14, 2006
11,238
Kernersville, NC
Just looking at BRef and was kinda shocked to see that Snell has the highest K/9 rate of all time at 11.2, just ahead of Chris Sale. Of course, Snell has almost double the walk rate of Sale.
 

BaseballJones

slappy happy
SoSH Member
Oct 1, 2015
26,876
Walk rate or no walk rate, Blake Snell is one of the best starting pitchers in baseball. The problem is that he can't be counted on to pitch very much. The only two years of his career where he's gone more than 130 innings, he won the CYA (2018, 2023). Every other year, the most he's pitched has been 129.1 ip. And he'll be 32 next week so it's not like he's expected to get more durable.
 

DeJesus Built My Hotrod

Well-Known Member
Lifetime Member
SoSH Member
Dec 24, 2002
53,741
I dont understand why people are getting mad at the Dodgers. They are being financially creative in finding ways *fully within the rules* to compete for and pay top free agents in the market. They aren't using any alchemy that isn't available to all other clubs. They do have an advantage of geography but money can solve that too. It turns out that signing Othani created some extra little tailwinds.

All teams can spend top dollar on free agents and can structure deferrals (simple time value of money). Some just choose not to, throw up their hands and say "what can you do?". Fans wouldn't accept that from the athletes they follow but they clearly are ok with it if its the owners.
 
Last edited:

epraz

Member
SoSH Member
Oct 15, 2002
6,339
In my time watching baseball, Snell is the best pitcher that is the least enjoyable to watch. Glad he's in the NL!
 

tims4wins

PN23's replacement
SoSH Member
Jul 15, 2005
40,142
Hingham, MA
I dont why people are getting mad at the Dodgers. They are being financially creative in finding ways *fully within the rules* to compete for and pay top free agents in the market. They aren't using any alchemy that isn't available to all other clubs. They do have an advantage of geography but money can solve that too. It turns out that signing Othani created some extra little tailwinds.

All teams can spend top dollar on free agents and can structure deferrals (simple time value of money). Some just choose not to, throw up their hands and say "what can you do?". Fans wouldn't accept that from the athletes they follow but they clearly are ok with it if its the owners.
Are people really mad at the Dodgers, or MLB? Seems like the latter to me. I think people are frustrated that it's the Dodgers again, but not specifically mad at the team.
 

Max Power

thai good. you like shirt?
SoSH Member
Jul 20, 2005
8,808
Boston, MA
That shows a fundamental misunderstanding of what deferred $ is.

Why would something worth 46M be taxed as if its worth 70M?

Ohtani signed a 10/460M contract. Thats it. The sooner people realize the 700M number is entirely meaningless, the better off everyone will be.
Would Juan Soto be looking for $700 million if Shohei hadn't just signed for what was reported as $700 million? The higher number is extremely important to agents looking to shift the window of plausible contracts.
 

astrozombie

Member
SoSH Member
Sep 12, 2022
710
Does anyone have a link to a good summary (or even explanation) of the deferral rules? Specifically as to how it affects the CBT? Based on this thread, there is some stuff being thrown around that I find a bit difficult to believe.
 

Jace II

no rules
SoSH Member
Jul 14, 2005
1,183
To do what? And why?
Ohtani is making $460M for work performed in the state of CA, but since he deferred 97% of it, only 3% of $700M is actually taxable in CA (assuming he moves out after the contract is over / before the deferred $ is paid, which why wouldn't he do). So only $21M taxable - CA is getting almost zero.

This is obviously pretty bad for CA state tax collection, which is used to do things like fund roads and infrastructure that Ohtani uses when he brings hundreds of thousands of fans to a stadium. Ohtani is benefitting heavily from that infrastructure - it created the economic value that in part made his giant contract possible in the first place.

I'm not sure what recourse they have, but it's pretty obvious that discouraging extremely lucrative tax dodges is in their interest.
 

John Marzano Olympic Hero

has fancy plans, and pants to match
Dope
SoSH Member
Apr 12, 2001
25,472
I dont understand why people are getting mad at the Dodgers. They are being financially creative in finding ways *fully within the rules* to compete for and pay top free agents in the market. They aren't using any alchemy that isn't available to all other clubs. They do have an advantage of geography but money can solve that too. It turns out that signing Othani created some extra little tailwinds.

All teams can spend top dollar on free agents and can structure deferrals (simple time value of money). Some just choose not to, throw up their hands and say "what can you do?". Fans wouldn't accept that from the athletes they follow but they clearly are ok with it if its the owners.
It's misplaced annoyance. It's easier to be angry at the Dodgers then it is to be angry at John Henry and company.

The Sox used to be at the forefront of big contracts and finding creative ways of fitting in players. Now the company line is "financial flexibility". Hopefully that changes this winter and we can hang at the adults' table again.
 

simplicio

Member
SoSH Member
Apr 11, 2012
9,033
To do what? And why?
After the Ohtani deal there was pressure from CA state lawmakers to limit deferred pay, cause under current rules Ohtani's deferred deal kicking in 10 years after his actual employment means he could just leave CA and the state would lose 90m in tax revenue.

It's a federal law though so given current/future occupants of the house change seems extremely unlikely.
 

DeJesus Built My Hotrod

Well-Known Member
Lifetime Member
SoSH Member
Dec 24, 2002
53,741
After the Ohtani deal there was pressure from CA state lawmakers to limit deferred pay, cause under current rules Ohtani's deferred deal kicking in 10 years after his actual employment means he could just leave CA and the state would lose 90m in tax revenue.

It's a federal law though so given current/future occupants of the house change seems extremely unlikely.
Do you have a link to this story?
 

epraz

Member
SoSH Member
Oct 15, 2002
6,339
Would Juan Soto be looking for $700 million if Shohei hadn't just signed for what was reported as $700 million? The higher number is extremely important to agents looking to shift the window of plausible contracts.
Every team that's in the running would give Juan Soto the Ohtani contract--if it included the deferred money.
 

NYCSox

chris hansen of goats
Lifetime Member
SoSH Member
May 19, 2004
10,726
Some fancy town in CT
Ohtani is making $460M for work performed in the state of CA, but since he deferred 97% of it, only 3% of $700M is actually taxable in CA (assuming he moves out after the contract is over / before the deferred $ is paid, which why wouldn't he do). So only $21M taxable - CA is getting almost zero.

This is obviously pretty bad for CA state tax collection, which is used to do things like fund roads and infrastructure that Ohtani uses when he brings hundreds of thousands of fans to a stadium. Ohtani is benefitting heavily from that infrastructure - it created the economic value that in part made his giant contract possible in the first place.

I'm not sure what recourse they have, but it's pretty obvious that discouraging extremely lucrative tax dodges is in their interest.
When you have obscene income tax rates you're going to have creative avoidance schemes (see Dwight Eisenhower and the Beatles for earlier examples). Perhaps making the rates less obscene would be wise.
 

Jace II

no rules
SoSH Member
Jul 14, 2005
1,183
I don't really understand cheering on a mutual tax avoidance scheme (Dodgers reduce luxury tax burden, Ohtani avoids state taxes) that can only be afforded by those rich enough to not need the vast majority of their income. The cost is ultimately is being borne by average CA state taxpayers.

This 10/$460M contract is worth potentially significantly more to Ohtani than a non-deferred 10/$500M contract, because he's just not paying taxes where he works, despite using the infrastructure that taxes fund. The Dodgers and Ohtani benefit, everyone else loses.

Ohtani may even be able to avoid significant federal taxes if he moves back to Japan before the deferred income is paid, although maybe some tax treaty between Japan and US means the US still recovers it. Not sure.

When you have obscene income tax rates you're going to have creative avoidance schemes. Perhaps making the rates less obscene would be wise.
If you're going to dodge taxes, the same incentives exist even if the rates are lower. Better to close the loophole than hope that lowering tax rates across the board (to some level that may not fund services for those less rich than Ohtani) causes companies to feel bad about it and stop using the loophole. Ultimately that's a state governance and tax policy discussion, not a baseball one.
 

NYCSox

chris hansen of goats
Lifetime Member
SoSH Member
May 19, 2004
10,726
Some fancy town in CT
If you're going to dodge taxes, the same incentives exist even if the rates are lower. Better to close the loophole than hope that lowering tax rates across the board (to some level that may not fund services for those less rich than Ohtani) causes companies to feel bad about it and stop using the loophole. Ultimately that's a state governance and tax policy discussion, not a baseball one.
Not necessarily. If rates are lower then having the money upfront (rather than in ten years) may be the better financial decision even factoring income tax.

This of course is a separate issue from Dodgers luxury tax benefit.
 

radsoxfan

Member
SoSH Member
Aug 9, 2009
14,610
Would Juan Soto be looking for $700 million if Shohei hadn't just signed for what was reported as $700 million? The higher number is extremely important to agents looking to shift the window of plausible contracts.
I have no idea, but optics have nothing to do with how much a contract is worth or how much it should be taxed.

If I signed a 1 year, 1 million dollar contract tomorrow that stated I would get nothing now but a 1M payment in 2050, that wouldn't be worth close to 1M in 2024. Someone can do the math with todays interest rates but it certainly would be worth substantially less than a million bucks.