Here is all you need to know about Nez Balelo, his net worth and clients as the agent of Shohei Ohtani helps the Japanese baseball player sign a mindblowing contract
Shohei Ohtani, a Japanese baseball phenom, has inked a $700 million (£558 million) 10-year contract with the Los Angeles Dodgers, making it the largest deal in sports history. This agreement surpasses football legend Lionel Messi’s $674 million four-year contract with Barcelona, according to the BBC.
Who is Nez Balelo agent of Shohei Ohtani, net worth, clients list, agency, wife
This contract, the largest in US Major League Baseball (MLB) history, has made Ohtani one of the highest-paid athletes in the world. Since Babe Ruth and others, the MLB has not witnessed a generational talent like the Japanese sensation.
After months of speculating about the two-time MLB MVP’s landing place, his agent Nez Balelo released a news release in the middle of the afternoon with the information.
Ohtani made the announcement via an Instagram post, and his agent, Nez Balelo of Creative Artists Agency (CAA), promptly responded with a statement. Balelo said:
This is a unique, historic contract for a unique, historic player.
He further said:
Shohei is thrilled to be a part of the Dodgers organization. He is excited to begin this partnership, and he structured his contract to reflect a true commitment from both sides to long-term success.
Shohei Ohtani agent Nez Balelo’s statement pic.twitter.com/GauXEpXjQM
— Bob Nightengale (@BNightengale) December 9, 2023
At rumoured insistence of the two-way superstar and Balelo, Ohtani’s free agency procedure was cloaked in secrecy.
Ohtani has reportedly agreed to a 10-year contract worth $700 million, which surpasses the $674 million that Lionel Messi received from FC Barcelona. The contract does not apparently contain any opt-out conditions, reports suggest.
With his new deal with the Dodgers, Shohei Ohtani has brought attention to both himself and the man who has paved the way for him. Balelo, who represents Ohtani, is one of the best sports agents in the business. Everyone is shocked by the strategies and guile that Balelo displays and to help the Japanese youngster grab this mindblowing contract.
Who is Nez Balelo?
Nez Balelo is Shohei Ohtani’s agent from CAA Sports and former player who helped him sign the $700 million contract with the Los Angeles Dodgers. He is also the agent of Sandy Alcantara and Jean Segura.
Prior to ever playing in a game, the career of former MLB player Balelo cruelly ended. He spent his senior year with Pepperdine University. The Seattle Mariners selected him in 1987.
Following his signing, Balelo began scouting for the Atlanta Braves. While building his school alongside it, he spent ten years as an employee of the organisation. He ultimately established a name for himself by selling everything and founding his sports agency.
After a devastating injury took him from playing infielder for the MLB, Nez Baleo began working for the Atlanta Braves in a Hybrid development program in a consulting and scouting role and ten years later, Balelo left the Braves organization to start his own agency, taking players he developed during those years as a jumping-off point.
Balelo is one of the leading MLB agents in the world. Now co-head of CAA Sports’ baseball division, Balelo represents 49 MLB players, including Adam Jones, Jean Segura, and Ryan Braun and in 2019, he negotiated around $3 billion in contracts, earning him an annual commission of $29.6 million. He has a net worth of roughly $100 million.
Balelo is a Sports super-agent, representing athletes such as Japanese phenom Shohei Ohtani of the Los Angeles Angels, Sandy Alcantara of the Miami Marlins to former greats MVP Ryan Braun, All-Stars / Gold glove winners Andre Ethier and Adam Jones to UFC Hall of Famer “Champ” Georges St-Pierre.
He was raised in San Diego California, first generation Portuguese descent, where his family migrated from the Madeira Islands in Portugal and was raised in the Commercial fishing industry. Balelo currently heads up the Baseball division within CAA Sports. He has been responsible and a part of negotiating over $4 Billion Dollars worth of contracts while at CAA and he currently ranks on the Forbes Top 50 most powerful sports agents in the world list for 6th consecutive years.