Commissioner Rob Manfred claims contract deferrals could become ‘problematic’ in future

Rob Manfred has warned that deferred contracts could become problematic in the future if the amount keeps on increasing.

Commissioner Rob Manfred claims contract deferrals could become ‘problematic’ in future

Rob Manfred (Image via Imago)

One of the biggest talking points in MLB right now is regarding the contract deferrals. In the past few years, several contracts have been deferred by teams. Commissioner Rob Manfred has warned that these deferrals could become “problematic” in the future.

In an interview with Chris O’Gorman for Questions for Cancer Research, Manfred mentioned how the Arizona Diamondbacks suffered from this situation. The top boss recalled the situation they team went through in 2004.

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Three years after winning the World Series in 2001, the Diamondbacks found themselves in a troubling situation. In 2004, the team had $254 million in deferred salaries. Team owner Jerry Colangelo was forced out of the team due to the excessive debt, largely resulting from the deferred contracts.

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Manfred claims that as the number gets bigger, the problem will get bigger for teams.

Deferrals at some point can become problematic. Historically, we did have one franchise, Arizona, that got itself into financial difficulties as a result of excessive deferrals. We’ve strengthened our rules in terms of the funding of deferred compensation in order to avoid that kind of problem. But, you know, look, obviously the bigger the numbers get, the bigger the concern.

Rob Manfred said in an interview with Chris O’Gorman (h/t Evan Drellich of The Athletic)

One team that has made huge noise regarding deferred contracts is the Los Angeles Dodgers. The 2024 World Series champion recently signed Blake Snell and extended the contract of Tommy Edman. Both of these deals have deferred money.

The Dodgers currently pose a total bill of over $1 billion in deferrals. Most of this is from the $700 million contract signed by Shohei Ohtani. The Japanese international has a total of $680 million money deferred.

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In the past few days, Juan Soto has been the talk of the town. The 4-time MLB All-Star penned down a massive $765 million deal with the New York Mets, the largest contract in professional sports history. Commissioner Rob Manfred would later comment on this.

Juan Soto and Rob Manfred (Image via NY Post/People)

In the interview with Chris O’Gorman, the 66-year-old called Soto an “unbelieveable performer“. He pointed out how him coming early to the league helped him reach the free agency during his prime years.

It’s always about the player. Juan Soto, an unbelieveable performer, hit the market at the right age. He obviously came to the big leagues young and as a result reached free agency really in his prime.

Rob Manfred said on Juan Soto’s deal with NY Mets
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The deal of Juan Soto with the NY Mets will see him earn an AAV of $51 million from 2025. This could increase to $55 million if he does not opt out of his contract by 2029. This could push the total value of the deal from $765 million to $805 million.