One of the Los Angeles Dodgers' biggest sales pitches to Shohei Ohtani turns out to have come from Kobe Bryant. According to ESPN's Jeff Passan, the Dodgers used a recorded video message from Bryant back in 2017 to help recruit Ohtani to sign with the franchise.
"That was one of the highlights of the whole meeting," Ohtani told ESPN. "I was really surprised to see it. It was a strong and touching message."
In 2017, Bryant recorded the message as a favor to the Dodgers. Now, over three years after his death, Bryant vouching for the Dodgers made all the difference for Ohtani.
Ohtani never met Bryant, but was blown away when the Lakers legend said his name in the video. That ended up being a major selling point for Ohtani as he respected how dedicated Bryant was to improving as a player.
On Monday, Ohtani officially signed his 10-year, $700 million contract with the Dodgers. That deal is now the largest contract in professional sports history, but is structured a tad differently than most. $68 million of Ohtani's $70 million yearly salary is being deferred until the conclusion of the deal, which will be paid out from 2034 to 2043.
Ohtani had elbow surgery performed on his right elbow in September, so he won't be pitching for the Dodgers until the 2025 season. During the 2023 campaign, Ohtani posted a 10-5 record and a 3.14 ERA, while blasting 44 home runs and knocking in 95 runs at the plate.
