$1 Billion Too Little? How Shohei Ohtani and Yoshinobu Yamamoto’s Mega Deals Led to the Dodgers’ Huge Growth in Japan

Normally when a team gives a player a huge deal, there’s a hue and cry over it being an overpayment. Usually, one can make a case for it but for the Los Angeles Dodgers, their $1 billion “investment” on Shohei Ohtani and his compatriot Yoshinobu Yamamoto might actually prove to be too little. The fact that these superstars have opened an entire market of over 120 million people to the Blue Crew is something that cannot be understated. This is especially true after the team’s media presence skyrocketed tangibly. 

Though the Dodgers’ Japanese connection runs deeper than the presence of Ohtani and Yoshinobu Yamamoto, they’ve never had two stars of that caliber simultaneously on their team. In fact, if one is being honest – not many times in history do two of the biggest baseball stars of a country play on the same team at the same time. That has led to the Dodgers turning Japan blue – one brand at a time.

The Shohei Ohtani effect – Los Angeles Dodgers’ continuous rise 

Ever since Shohei Ohtani and Yoshinobu Yamamoto became Dodgers, the brand image of the Blue Crew has been on a massive spike. With the entire Land of the Rising Sun swayed by the Men in Blue, multiple brands are trying to capitalize on the situation. That has led to the Dodgers signing multiple deals that amount to millions of dollars. The latest brand to make a deal with the Dodgers is a Japanese cosmetic brand – Kose. In their statement, Kose Corporation said, “With this partnership agreement with the Los Angeles Dodgers, we hope many Americans, including Dodgers fans, will become familiar with the corporation and the Kose brand.” Certainly, it’s an opportunity of a lifetime for these brands. 

Just a few weeks ago, the Blue Crew announced their deal with All Nippon Airways (ANA). The team announced on April 1 that ANA will be serving as the official Japanese Airline Partner after the multi-year agreement was struck between the two. But that’s not even close to the totality of brands currently in a deal with the Dodgers.

Another Japanese company – Toyo Tires announced a multi-year sponsorship between them and the Dodgers. All of this is happening because of Shohei Ohtani’s huge popularity in Japan. The fact that he’s perhaps the biggest star in the Asian country is surely helping the matter. All in all with so many opportunities it seems the gate of Japan has finally opened for the Dodgers.

Just how deep does the two-way phenom’s impact run?

The greatness of Shohei Ohtani’s impact can be understood by the economic impact his presence causes. This, according to BBC – economist Katsuhiro Miyamoto was around $342 million (50.4 billion yen) in 2023. Around 1.2 billion yen of the total amount was spent by Japanese nationals traveling to the US to watch his games. That time Ohtani was in the Los Angeles Angels. Now with the Dodgers’ already bigger fanbase – one can imagine how high that number might go. 

South Korea’s Maeii Business Newspaper estimated that the Seoul Series had around $150 million economic impact. Most of it happened due to Shohei Ohtani’s unprecedented popularity in the country. With the entire Asian market now in the grips of the Dodgers – the sky is the limit for them.

Who’d have guessed that having two of the biggest sporting exports of a country would make you extremely popular there, right?