March 24 (Reuters) - Japan's Shohei Ohtani is setting the pace by topping baseball's rich list, according to figures published by Forbes on Tuesday, as Major League Baseball heads into a new season buoyed by global growth but facing rising labor tensions.
The Los Angeles Dodgers superstar is projected to earn $127 million in 2026, driven by an unprecedented $125 million in off-field income, the highest endorsement total ever for an active athlete after Conor McGregor in 2021, Forbes said.
Ohtani's off-field income alone is more than six times the combined total of the other nine players on the list, underscoring his unmatched global appeal.
Overall, the top 10 are set to earn a record $144 million off the field, up 20% from last year and nearly nine times higher than four years ago, highlighting the rapid growth in baseball’s commercial landscape.
The ranking also underlines the dominance of baseball’s biggest spenders.
Cody Bellinger is second at $56.5 million with the New York Yankees, while Bo Bichette is sixth at $42.4 million after joining the New York Mets. The six highest-paid players all play for the Los Angeles Dodgers, Yankees or Mets.
LABOR CLOUD
Yet the surge in revenues and player pay comes amid growing tensions between owners and players, with the current collective bargaining agreement set to expire on Dec. 1, setting the stage for potentially contentious negotiations.
Some owners have floated the introduction of a salary cap, a system players strongly oppose, raising the prospect of a labor dispute that could disrupt the 2027 season.
"If the owners are dead set on a salary cap and they will accept nothing else, then I think that'll eventually happen, but we'll miss at least one full season of baseball," Michael Haupert, an economics professor at the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse, told Forbes.
Haupert added owners could seek higher minimum salaries and better minor league pay in exchange for cost controls that could shift earnings away from top athletes.
Former players have warned a lockout or strike could halt the sport’s momentum, while union officials say a lost 2027 season might also keep players out of the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics.
(Reporting by Janina Nuno Rios in Mexico City, editing by Pritha Sarkar)
