Travis Kelce's incredible Shohei Ohtani prediction proved correct as Dodgers sign Yoshinobu Yamamoto
Travis Kelce is the new king of predictions.
The famous Kansas City Chiefs tight end couldn't have been more right during a recent episode of his New Heights podcast.
Reacting to the Los Angeles Dodgers' stunning signing of free agent Shohei Ohtani for a record $700 million, Kelce believed that the Dodgers were deferring so much of the contract -- Ohtani is only receiving $2 million annually until 2034 -- because they had another huge signing in mind.
"This is basically just making room for [the Dodgers] to go out and get another Shohei Ohtani," Travis said.
Barely a week after those strong comments, Los Angeles stunned baseball fans again by locking down Japanese star pitcher Yoshinobu Yamamoto with a 12-year, $325 million contract.
Yamamoto received that monster deal despite never previously pitching in MLB.
When Ohtani's $700 million is combined with Yamamoto's $325 million, the Dodgers have signed two free agents in an 11-day period for an unbelievable $1.025 billion.
Factor in that Los Angeles already has Mookie Betts and Freddie Freeman on its roster, and recently signed Tyler Glasnow, and it's impossible to ignore how the Dodgers have bent MLB's financial rules while staying between the lines.
With almost all of Ohtani's $700 million deferred for the next 10 years -- a creative financial move inspired by Todd Boehly's work at Chelsea FC -- Los Angeles has been able to overload its lineup and pitching rotation at an unprecedented level.
"It's cheating. It's cheating," Kelce said on a recent podcast. "You can't f******* do that. What's the point of the cap? Is there a cap in baseball?"
Ohtani's contract structure is so unorthodox that Travis' brother, Jason, wondered whether it would be accepted by MLB.
"I would be shocked if this contract is allowed to stand," Jason said.
It has been, since baseball doesn't have a salary cap or floor.
Travis was 100 percent right in predicting that the Dodgers were deferring the vast majority of Ohtani's new money because they had another huge signing planned.
Pairing Yamamoto with Ohtani was the next step in the Dodgers' master plan.
While Travis was stunned by Los Angeles money moves, the Kelce brothers are also big Ohtani admirers, just like Los Angeles Rams fans and players.
"The dude is unbelievable," Jason said.
