Near the end of last year, the Los Angeles Dodgers rocked the sporting world, signing Shohei Ohtani to a 10-year, $700 million deal, easily the most lucrative contract in the history of American sports. Even though nearly everyone expected Ohtani to sign for big money, the size of the contract was nonetheless shocking, despite his incomparable gifts as both a hitter and pitcher.

Yet what might have been more surprising is how the contract was structured: Almost all the money will be deferred. Officially, that allowed the Dodgers to sign other players without paying huge penalties for violating Major League Baseball’s spending rules. (And, in the interim, they have). READ MORE