Deal Made as Minor Leaguer Comes Back to Bite MLB Star

Always be careful when you sign a deal on the way up. Fernando Tatis Jr.’s 14-year, $340 million extension with the San Diego Padres may cost him a little bit of money due to a contract he signed while in the minor leagues. A portion of Tatis’ deal with the Padres will be going to Big League Advance, a company with a very specific, and some would say predatory, business model.

Via The Athletic:

Fernando Tatis Jr. will not get the entire $340 million.

Taxes will cut into his new 14-year agreement with the Padres, of course. But Tatis also must pay off a previous obligation, a deal he made during the 2017-18 offseason, when he was turning 19 years old and preparing for his first full season at Double A.

It was then that Tatis entered into a contract with Big League Advance (BLA), a company that offers select minor leaguers upfront payments in exchange for a percentage of their future earnings in Major League Baseball. Neither Tatis nor BLA has revealed the exact percentage he owes the company.

The company’s president and CEO, former major-league pitcher Michael Schwimer, told The Athletic in April 2018 that BLA uses a proprietary algorithm to value every player in the minors. Players who receive offers can accept a base-level payout in return for 1 percent of their earnings, with the chance to receive greater incremental payouts and pay back a…

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The deal that will cost Fernando Tatis Jr. part of his contract: https://t.co/iQ8fiEODz2

— Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) February 18, 2021

Tatis used the money to get himself in a better setup for living, eating, etc.

[Tatis] said after signing with BLA that he wanted to hire a personal trainer, eat better food and get a better apartment. He used the money to upgrade not only his training regimen in the U.S., but also his offseason practice field in his native Dominican Republic.

So if Tatis took the largest payment, he would be set to pay Big League Advance $34 million over the course of 14 years.

At the end of the day it all paid off. He’ll have to pay out to BLA but he still has plenty of money to last several lifetimes.

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