6 players on the Braves' roster whose salaries add up to Shohei Ohtani's deal

While the Atlanta Braves have been wheeling and dealing this offseason, the elephant in the room for the rest of the league was the fate of Shohei Ohtani's free agency. Yesterday, after a lot of twists and turns and drama and false reports, it was finally revealed that Ohtani was heading to the Dodgers on a massive $700 million deal.

That kind of money in the game of baseball or any sport really is completely insane. The previous largest contract in MLB belonged to Mike Trout who got over $426 million in an extension from the Angels and Shohei didn't just beat that mark, he completely demolished it. The $70 million average salary he will receive over the course of his deal (yes yes, there are deferrals...but talking strictly about how much money he is getting versus the years he is under contract here) beats the total team payrolls of several MLB teams in 2024. The $700 million total number is more than the net worth of some MLB team owners. Again, insane.

To provide some context for just how nutty Shohei's deal with the Dodgers is, let's take a look at how it stacks up against the contracts that the Braves have on their books right now.

Here are the 6 Braves contracts that combined are worth as much as Shohei's contract

First, some rules clarifications. This is strictly about guaranteed dollars and we are talking about the total values of contracts, not what is left on said contracts. Frankly, going through and subtracting previous years salaries from some of these deals is too much of a pain to deal with. That also means that club options aren't included because they aren't guaranteed money, although some of these guys will very likely get club options exercised if their current trajectories hold. Finally, there are a number of permutations of Braves contracts that can get you to Shohei's deal, this is just one example.

Anyways, on to the list.

Austin Riley - 10 years, $212 million

The Braves are unique in the game of baseball has they have been particularly adept at signing their young players to lengthy and team-friendly contract extensions. The most expensive deal that they have inked during this period of time was the extension given to Austin Riley back in 2022. This is a deal that includes a club option for 2033, so the previous caveats do apply here as well. It is the biggest deal in franchise history and it is still less than a third of what Ohtani just got from the Dodgers.

Matt Olson - Eight years, $168 million

When the Braves traded for Matt Olson, it came in the wake of the departure of Braves icon Freddie Freeman in free agency and fans were understandably concerned. However, the Braves were so sold on Olson's ability that they immediately gave him an eight year extension worth $168 million. Olson's first season with the Braves was a mixed bag, but he bounced back in a big way last season to hit 54 home runs and finish fourth in the NL MVP voting. His contract is looking like a fantastic deal right now, but only gets us a little over halfway to Shohei's money when combined with Riley's deal.

Ronald Acuna Jr. - Eight years, $100 million

Basically everyone is still shocked that the Braves managed to get Ronald Acuna Jr. to sign his eight year, $100 million deal in 2019, but there is a rationale on Acuna's side. Signing a deal that early in his career gives him financial security in the event of a career-threatening injury and takes the uncertainty of arbitration completely out of the equation. The Braves did tack on two $17 million club options on the end of the deal which makes what already looks like an absolute bargain for one of the best players in baseball look even better.