Shohei Ohtani served as the richest contracted athlete in professional sports for only one year. Juan Soto and the New York Mets agreed to a 15-year, $765 million package after signing a 10-year, $765 million contract with the Los Angeles Dodgers.

In his first season of 50 home runs and 50 stolen bases in Major League Baseball history, Ohtani is paid less than anyone else’s salary. He has not yet promoted the 2023 elbow surgery for the Dodgers. However, Ohtani's agent Nez Balelo told reporters on Thursday that he and his superstar clients "will not do anything different".

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The differences between contracts are more obvious when you carefully examine the details of each package. None of Soto's funds will be delayed, which means he will generate the entire $765 million worth. By comparison, Ohtani's deal includes $680 million in deferred funds, reducing the actual value of the agreement to $460 million.

According to Balelo, Ohtani won the World Series with the Dodgers last season and made up for any financial differences between his contract and Soto with his teammates very comfortably.

“We are not going to do anything different,” Barrello said at the Sportico Invest West meeting in The Los Angeles Times on Thursday. "He won the championship. He went to the right team. Why would we do anything different? No regrets. Nothing."

Additionally, Ohtani will receive over $100 million in recognition (and probably more if he chooses), further closing the obvious gap on paper.

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Balelo went on to explain that he and Ohtani had the same feeling when he left Japan with the LA Angels contract. Ohtani may get more money from other teams, but the Angels are committed to making him both a batsman and a pitcher. This gave him the ability to win two American League MVP awards and receive his contract with the Dodgers, so they don't regret it there.

"It's the right place, the group and Mike (Scioscia) and that team were there," Balelo added. "They gave him a chance. They stuck with him. He had a tough spring. It was the right home for him at the time."

Free agency contracts in movement are often a matter of timing, not value. In contrast, there are many points to be raised, such as Ohtani's potential two-way contribution to the Dodgers, while Soto is only 26 years old. But after Ohtani set the standard, Soto entered the open market, so he ended up making a bigger deal.

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This happens throughout the professional sport. Is Dak Prescott's quarterback better than Patrick Mahomes? Most people would say no, and Mahomes' total contract value is higher ($450 million to $240 million). But Prescott will make $60 million next season compared to Mahomes' $52.1 million.

According to Balelo, the Dodgers have put forward a vision of building a winner around him and have followed commitments beyond his contract. From his contract, the money saved from the extension was used to sign other players, including Yoshinobu Yamamoto and Tyler Glasnow, putting them in a position to win the World Series.

Balelo also said the contract signed with the Dodgers could be the last of him as a professional athlete. When the 10-year deal expires, he will be 39 years old and obviously has no interest in the game until his skills and condition completely erode.

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"He just didn't want to end his storybook career, and then in 13, 14 and 15 years: 'Who is this guy? He can't even run to the first place first."

Fortunately, Ohtani may have 9 years of baseball fans enjoyed it.