{"id":778143,"date":"2026-08-14T02:30:30","date_gmt":"2026-08-14T02:30:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/778143\/"},"modified":"2026-08-14T02:30:30","modified_gmt":"2026-08-14T02:30:30","slug":"source-shohei-ohtani-likely-wouldnt-opt-out-if-dodgers-sold","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/778143\/","title":{"rendered":"Source: Shohei Ohtani likely wouldn’t opt out if Dodgers sold"},"content":{"rendered":"

LOS ANGELES — Although Shohei Ohtani<\/a>‘s contract contains a “key man” clause that would allow him to opt out in the event Mark Walter sells his stake in the Los Angeles Dodgers<\/a>, a source with knowledge of the two-way star’s thinking confirmed to ESPN on Thursday that he’d be unlikely to do so in that scenario.<\/p>\n

In the wake of Walter selling his portion of the NBA’s Los Angeles Lakers<\/a> to Josh Kushner and Bob Iger for a record-breaking price of $12.5 billion<\/a> on Wednesday, speculation has run rampant that Walter, under federal investigation for alleged tax fraud by other companies under his scope, would sell off other assets as well, but sources were quick to state that there were no plans to sell the Dodgers.<\/p>\n

Even if they eventually are sold, Ohtani ultimately would not opt out, the source said, citing two factors.<\/p>\n

The first is money. Players exercise opt-out clauses to reenter free agency and maximize their earning potential. But Ohtani, who makes more in off-the-field endorsements than any baseball player by a wide margin, showed that wasn’t his foremost priority when he agreed to defer all but $20 million of his 10-year, $700 million contract.<\/p>\n

The other, just-as-relevant factor is that the Dodgers have provided Ohtani everything he has longed for, reinvesting the savings triggered by his deferrals while allowing him to win back-to-back MVPs and back-to-back championships since joining them in December 2023.<\/p>\n

A key man clause is a provision allowing players to essentially terminate their contracts if certain people are no longer involved with the organization with which they sign. In Ohtani’s case, that clause applies specifically to Walter and Andrew Friedman, president of baseball operations.<\/p>\n

The Athletic<\/a> was first to report that Ohtani was unlikely to trigger it in the event of a sale.<\/p>\n

It was only 10 months ago, in October 2025, that Walter’s purchase of the Lakers from the Buss family for $10 billion was approved by the NBA. Members of the Dodgers, notably Friedman and former chief marketing officer Lon Rosen, had begun working for the organization in various capacities as a result.<\/p>\n

Walter’s abrupt sale was a stunner for high-ranking people in both leagues.<\/p>\n

Dodgers CEO Stan Kasten, speaking to reporters from Dodger Stadium on Wednesday, said the Lakers sale came together quickly and because Walter was being “opportunistic.” Kasten added there was “no reason to think” it had something to do with the federal probe. He also stressed that the Dodgers, Major League Baseball’s highest-spending franchise, would not be affected by it.<\/p>\n

“This is a Lakers story; it’s not really a Dodgers story,” Kasten told reporters. “It really has nothing to do with the Dodgers. They’re completely separate. There are no changes here, or contemplated here. I think that pretty much is the whole story.”br\/]<\/p>\n

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