The Dodgers have more than $1 billion in deferred money through 2047

Edwin Diaz is the latest big name to sign a three-year, $69 million deal with the Los Angeles Dodgers.

But the star reliever won't be receiving his full salary for the next three years. Diaz, who will receive a $9 million signing bonus on February 1, will earn a salary of $14 million next year and $23 million over the following two seasons.

The Dodgers will therefore defer $4.5 million per year, this amount being paid in ten equal installments every July 1. The 2026 money will be due from 2036 to 2045, the 2027 money will be paid from 2037 to 2046, while the 2028 amount due will be paid from 2038 to 2047.

This makes the Dodgers now responsible for paying $1,064,500,000 (over $1 billion) through 2047, with the amounts to be paid to Diaz, Shohei Ohtani, Mookie Betts, Blake Snell, Freddie Freeman, Will Smith, Tommy Edman, Tanner Scott, and Teoscar Hernandez.

The Dodgers will owe their players $1.64 billion in deferred contracts through the year 2047 after signing Edwin Diaz.

Nobody does deferrals like LA

Shot by @noisebynoel pic.twitter.com/lYHYVzoSk0

– Dodgers Nation (@DodgersNation) December 16, 2025

The largest amount of deferred money to be paid in one year will be $102.3 million in 2038 and 2039.

Most of this is due to Ohtani, who will receive $680 million in payments from 2034 to 2043. Betts is next in line, with $115 million in salaries from 2033 to 2044, plus the final $5 million of his signing bonus payable from 2033 to 2035.

Deferred money directly affects the luxury tax paid by the Dodgers, since MLB makes the calculation using the average annual value of contracts. By spreading the payments over longer horizons, the club reduces the annual impact relative to the total guaranteed amount.

This content was created with the help of AI.