Shohei Ohtani and the Los Angeles Dodgers came to terms over the weekend on a 10-year, $700 million contract. This made history as the largest in MLB history but there are other factors at play that will make this contract go down in history.

On Monday, Fabian Ardaya of The Athletic reported that $68 million of Ohtani’s $70 million annually will be deferred. This means that Ohtani will be paid $2 million per year during the 10 years of his contract. Beginning in 2034, Ohtani will be paid the deferred $68 million interest-free until 2043.

It was reported that this was Ohtani’s idea as it gives the Dodgers more financial flexibility to continue adding players to what they hope will be a World Series contender each year.

Of course, this deal enters uncharted territory. First, there has never been a contract that guarantees $70 million annually. Now, there are historic deferrals that could change the sport of baseball.

Steve Cohen, who’s net worth is just below $20 billion, has shown that he is not shy about spending money in attempts to improve the New York Mets. Last offseason, Cohen attempted to pair two aging pitchers, Justin Verlander and Max Scherzer, who both made over $40 million. MLB implemented a tax when a team goes over a certain percentage of the salary cap, which Cohen had to pay for exceeding a $400 million payroll last season.

There were concerns that Cohen’s money was going to ruin baseball but this seems like it will have worse repercussions.

Now that Ohtani is on the roster, and most of his money is now deferred, it is likely that the Dodgers work to improve their rotation. This is to balance out a roster that already includes Ohtani, Mookie Betts, and Freddie Freeman. It will be interesting to see if Los Angeles goes hard after Yoshinobu Yamamoto. He has been linked to both New York teams and the San Francisco Giants.

If Yamamoto falls through, there are other options such as Blake Snell and Jordan Montgomery.

The acquisition of Ohtani keeps the Dodgers in a good position to contend for a World Series title in 2024. If they can add another big-time arm, those adds will become even better but they might have also set a new idea into motion.

It will be interesting to see if other superstars will take this route in order to allow teams to add other big names around them in hopes of winning. The endorsement money also remains a factor in this decision. Regardless of the rest of the league, the Dodgers will owe Ohtani an abundance of money once his playing days are done.