Shohei Ohtani moved to Major League Baseball at the age of 23, signing with the Los Angeles Angels in 2017.
His contract drew widespread attention—not because it was large, but because it was surprisingly small.
Ohtani received a $2.3 million signing bonus and a salary of roughly $545,000, the minimum salary in Major League Baseball at the time.
For a player widely regarded as one of the greatest talents ever to leave Japan, the deal was considered extremely modest. With the exception of Hideo Nomo, most Japanese stars who had moved to MLB had signed far more lucrative contracts.
The reason was the league’s collective bargaining agreement, which limits signing bonuses for international players under the age of 25. Because Ohtani was only 23, teams were restricted in how much they could offer him.
However, what made the story remarkable was that Ohtani could have simply waited.
If he had delayed his move by just two years, he would almost certainly have received a contract worth hundreds of millions of dollars.
Yet he chose not to wait.
When asked why he would give up such an enormous financial opportunity, Ohtani explained his thinking with characteristic honesty.
Of course, he acknowledged that money matters. It can provide stability and support for family.
But he did not feel that such a massive contract truly reflected where he was in his career at that moment.
For Ohtani, the priority was clear.
What mattered most was the chance to challenge himself at the highest level of baseball as soon as possible.
This philosophy has continued to shape his career.
Even in his historic contract with the Los Angeles Dodgers, Ohtani agreed to defer the majority of his salary so that the team would have greater financial flexibility to build a stronger roster.
For Ohtani, money is important—but it is never the ultimate goal.
The true objective is always the same: to compete, to challenge himself, and to win.
Source
This quote comes from a Japanese book published in Japan and is not currently available in English.
Opening a Path, Crossing the Ocean: The True Story of Shohei Ohtani, p.46