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Published on:

11th Dec 2023

700 million

700 million dollars.

That's what the Los Angeles Dodgers have agreed to pay Shohei Ohtani over the next 10 years.

He's a superstar. He pitches and catches like an all star. That's something that no one has done consistently in the majors since Babe Ruth.


A true anomaly.


Elite Company does not describe how rare he is as a player.


Only he won't pitch next year because he's injured.


Ohtani had Tommy John surgery a few months back and we don't know whether he'll pitch again.


Now he'll make more money than any player in the history of American sports.


700 million dollars for an injured baseball player.


His contract is 14 times the size of the entire Oakland A's of last year.


LeBron James hasn't made $700 million in his career in the NBA.


Otani will make about as much as the Biden administration is promising to pay to bring internet to thousands of rural residents.


Or what the World Bank has agreed to pay to help Sri Lanka deal with its budget problems.


And seven times what the Food Network has agreed to pay Guy Fieri over the next three years.


$700 millio for an injured baseball player.


Pnart of me is amused by this, that this is possible at all.


And part of me is wondering, what the hell is wrong with this?


I'm a capitalist.


I don't begrudge businessmen and women for making business moves.


It's not my money.


But this is yet another sign that we live in a gilded age, or at least the tail end of one.


Where are our priorities?


Let me know what you think in the comments at jamesbrowntv.substack.com


Email: jamesbrowntv@gmail.com


Leave me a voicemail or text: 585-484-0339


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About the Podcast

All of the Above with James Brown
Exploring ideas big and small with fascinating people
I explore the big ideas that bring us together and meet the people who make them happen.

Musings on news, life, and television. A few minutes a day, five days a week.

Hosted by James Brown is an award winning journalist whose work has appeared on WXXI, PBS, NPR, BBC, and a slew of other places from sea to shining sea. He's the former host of USA TODAY's 5 Things, now The Excerpt. My work is proudly produced in Rochester, New York.

My goal is to create a diverse array of projects in the style of the people I grew up following: like Bill Moyers, Paul Harvey, John Stossel, Charles Osgood, Charlie Rose, Adam Curtis, Tavis Smiley, Douglas Ruskoff, Tony Kornheiser, and Art Bell, with my own twist, of course.

You can find my work anywhere you get your podcasts.

To support my work and tell me what you think join me at JamesBrownTV.substack.com.
Or email me at jamesbrowntv@gmail.com.
You can also leave me a message at 585-484-0339. And yes, I will call you back.
On that note, I'm James Brown, and as always, be well

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