The Dodgers’ deferred payment commitments have exceeded $1 billion for seven players following the contracts of Snell and Edman
Following the Blake Snell and Tommy Edman contracts, the Los Angeles Dodgers’ deferred payment liabilities now exceed $1 billion. Between 2028 and 2046, the franchise owes seven players a total of $1,006,500,000.
Snell’s $182 million contract, announced on Saturday, includes $66 million in deferred payments that will be made to him until July 1, 2046. Edman’s $74 million, five-year contract, announced on Friday, includes a $25 million payment through July 1, 2044.
“It’s just how you account for it,” Dodgers President of Baseball Operations Andrew Friedman said on Tuesday. “You have to fund a lot of it right now, and having that money work for you, we have — a lot of our ownership group come from financial backgrounds, so we can have that money working right now, and just making it — not something that sneaks up on us. We won’t wake up in 2035 and think, ‘Oh my God, that’s right. We have this money due. We will prepare for it along the road.”
Snell’s salary has been cut to roughly $31.4 million per year for the Dodgers’ luxury tax payroll, while Edman’s average is around $12.9 million.
Snell’s contract includes a $52 million signing bonus due on January 25. His annual compensation is $26 million, with $13.2 million deferred annually. From 2035 to 2046, this postponed money will be paid in equal amounts on July 1 each year.
“It just played out the way that people around me felt comfortable with,” Snell told me. “I felt at ease with. They felt at ease with. We talked. We found something that worked for both of us, and that is how we proceeded. But, certainly, I’m more interested in playing than money.”
The Dodgers also have a $10 million conditional option for 2023, which may be exercised if Snell sustains a qualifying injury and remains on the injured list for 90 days or longer. If Snell is traded, the new team will provide a $5 million assignment bonus.
Edman’s contract comprises a $17 million signing bonus due on December 10, a $5 million salary for next year, and $12.25 million in each of the subsequent four seasons, with $6.25 million deferred each year. The Dodgers own a $13 million option for 2030, with a $3 million buyout.
Edman’s deferred money will be paid in three payments per year, each due on July 1:
For 2026, $2.5 million will be paid in 2035 and 2036, followed by $1.25 million in 2037.
For 2027, $1.25 million will be paid in 2037, followed by $2.5 million in 2038 and 2039.
For 2028, $2.5 million will be paid in 2040 and 2041, followed by $1.25 million in 2042.
For 2029, $1.25 million will be paid in 2042, followed by $2.5 million in 2043 and 2044.
Snell and Edman will each donate 1% of their salaries to charity.
Shohei Ohtani, the two-way star, will receive $680 million from 2034 to 2043 as part of his record-breaking $700 million, 10-year contract that expires in 2033.
Friedman added, “I think the Shohei one was just too severe. But, other from the Shohei contract, the rest are routine operating procedures that many teams have followed. But I believe the Shohei one is unsettling to people because it’s so different, and I think the others are unfairly grouped in with it, but I think it’s a facile narrative.”
Several other players are owed delayed money, notably infielder/outfielder Mookie Betts, who is due $115 million in salary from 2033 to 2044 as part of his $365 million, 12-year contract.
First baseman Freddie Freeman’s $162 million, six-year contract includes a $57 million salary from 2028 to 2040. Catcher Will Smith will earn $50 million from 2034 to 2043 as part of a $140 million, 10-year contract. Outfielder Teoscar Hernández is owed $8.5 million from 2030 to 2039 as part of his $23.5 million, one-year contract in 2024.
Friedman stated, “I believe that having a number of our best players with deferrals has made it something that guys have no problem with, and in some cases may even prefer. When we’ve reached a stalemate on an agreement and either their side or ours has brought it up, it’s really helped provide — or closing that last mile.”
