‘Michael Jordan’s Revenge’ Law Set To Cost Shohei Ohtani Eye-Watering Amount of $700 Million Contract

It seems hard for athletes to evade Michael Jordan‘s revenge law. Every year, professional athletes in the USA navigate a complex tax landscape due to the multi-state nature of their careers. Recently, Japanese baseball star Shohei Ohtani secured one of the most lucrative contracts in the history of the sport. The $700 million left the top athletes, even from other sports, astounded. But he too was hit with Jordan’s revenge law.

But what is the revenge law and how did that impact Ohtani? Let’s find out more about it.

Michael Jordan’s revenge law hits Shohei Ohtani’s $700 million deal hard

The Los Angeles Dodgers signed Ohtani to a 10-year, $700 million deal. While $700 million trends online, the 5x NPB All-Star’s talent cannot be denied either. However, a major portion of that amount will be taken as jock tax. After numerous tax deductions, his earnings will amount to approximately $33.6 million per year. What’s intriguing is the jock tax, popularly known as the Michael Jordan’s revenge law, which demands a payment of $2.0 million. But where did that come from?

In 1991, Michael Jordan achieved a monumental victory when his Chicago Bulls triumphed over the Los Angeles Lakers, securing his first NBA Championship. However, his triumph on the court was followed by a financial battle over it, thanks to California’s tax authorities. The state sought its share of Jordan’s earnings, triggering discontent in Illinois, his home state.

They implemented a non-resident income tax on visiting athletes. This meant that any athlete not residing in California was required to pay taxes in that state.

Illinois, unpleased with Jordan facing tax penalties in California, decided to retaliate with the same and termed it the ‘Michael Jordan’s Revenge’ tax, which is known as the jock tax. It is based on the amount of time a player contributed to ‘income-related work’ in any state that administers an income tax.

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Such kind of a deal will help the MLB to bridge the gap with the NBA, renowned for scoring the biggest and most lucrative deals for its players. While some expressed their shock online, many, including 5X NBA champion Magic Johnson, shared a congratulatory message for the athlete.

Magic Johnson’s congratulatory message to the Los Angeles Dodgers

The minority owner of the Dodgers also expressed his excitement upon the franchise signing a deal with Ohtani. He has around 2.3 % stake in the franchise. Sharing his excitement, he wrote, “A big big congratulations and job well done to my partner and Dodgers majority owner Mark Walter, Stan Kasten, Andrew Friedman, and the rest of the Dodgers organization for signing Shohei Ohtani! @Dodgers”

La La Land has its newest star. The Dodger Stadium will surely be full of big names come next season and we can expect some major crossovers going forward. What are your thoughts on this? Let us know in the comments section below.

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