Ryan Orr

What’s great about today is that it’s not yesterday. | St. Michael’s Junior High School Student Council Co-President, 2008-09

[Ryan Orr @RyanOrr1994]

Me too @NoahKahan (and he just got married)

[Noah Kahan @NoahKahan]

I’m with my best friend Nathan

[Ryan Orr @RyanOrr1994]

There’s only 1 team you should accept $680m in deferred money from

[George Jarjour @GeorgeOnTap]

Dodgers owner Mark Walter is under a federal investigation and a whole lot of pressure. He just sold the Lakers only 14 months after buying the Lakers, he is selling his shares in Chelsea FC, and well the pressure is mounting and rumors are swirling about the Dodgers. The one key component here is Shohei Ohtani who is owed still $680 million by the Dodgers and well most of the contract is deferred until the 2040s. These two facts belong together, because Ohtani does have the richest contract in sports history, and that contract is owned by an owner who is under federal investigation. Basically, Ohtani gave the Dodgers a loan and now it looks like he might have loaned the wrong man.

Let’s break down the money. Ohtani’s contract is worth around $700 million dollars but right now because of the contract’s structure most people do know he takes home around $2 million a year. The rest of that money? Well it’s going to according to his contract be paid out 2034 to 2043. But he’s not the only Dodger whose deal is structured this way. They owe a total of over $1 billion dollars to nine different players with the payments being deferred all the way out to 2047. We all know about the infamous Bobby Bonilla day for the Mets where they pay him every July (that just ended), well the Dodgers took Bobby Bonilla day, injected it in Barry Bonds steroids and built a championship roster on layaway. They get the superstars today, the rings today, and the bill is due in the 2040s.

But one thing about deferred money and sports contracts is kind of insane. It’s not secured. Many are saying that it was Ohtani’s own idea to defer the money so the team could build a winner around him. Now, that may be true, but the money is not secured. Unlike most loans, there is no collateral, he doesn’t have a personal guarantee on Dodger stadium or anything of that sort. All he has is a promise, and it looks like he trusted the wrong man. If something happens cash wise, Ohtani is just another creditor standing in line looking for his money.

And Walters seems to be in huge trouble. But there is one thing in Ohtani’s contract that many people are missing. He has a “key-man” clause. If Walters sells the Dodgers (whether by choice or force) or if their executive Andrew Freidman leaves, Ohtani has the option to opt out of the rest of his contract. Which is funny, he wasn’t trusting the Dodgers franchise, he was trusting Walters himself. And Ohtani has said he would not opt out, but when facts change, opinions can too.

So if Walter has to sell, Ohtani basically can overnight become a free agent. And with an impending lockout and Walter needing cash, I think he might have to sell. And there is a darker road to the Dodgers problems and that is bankruptcy which might seem far fetched for a pro sports franchise but the Dodgers did go bankrupt in 2011. And a team bankruptcy can ask the courts to reject a contract which basically makes the player an unsecured creditor fighting to get pennies back on his dollar. And Ohtani’s $680 million with ZERO collateral? That’s something that has no leverage in a courtroom.

Now none of this is a prediction, and this can all play out in Ohtani’s favor, and Walters may even keep the Dodgers. But sports structure always assumes one big thing. And that is the franchise owner is stable. And that seemed like a given with Walters as he was buying assets and spending money left and right. But it’s harder to believe when he is under investigation and selling everything he owns. Ohtani made a bet worth $680 million dollars that the people who run the Dodgers would be safe and good standing when he turns 40. Well, his money is riding on a promise and hope.

[Ryan Orr @RyanOrr1994]

This should be a hardline from the owners in the next CBA negotiations. Maybe not a fully void no trade clause, but 25-50% of teams should be on the table. Vetoing every single team until you get what you want is bad for the league.

[Andy Strickland @andystrickland]

Speaking to an #NHL Exec…he suggests if a player negotiates a no-trade or a no move clause in their contract but then requests to be traded prior to the expiration of their deal, the NTC should be voided and the team should be allowed to trade the player to any team in the league.

[Ryan Orr @RyanOrr1994]

There’s something incredibly on point about @Rogers stadium being owned by the country’s largest telecom company and having no cell reception or wifi available

[Hunter Biden @HunterBiden]

Things most Americans agree on:

Groceries cost too much.

Tariffs suck and make no sense.

Congress and Presidents shouldn’t trade stocks.

The debt is a mess.

The border should be secure, but legal immigration is good.

Endless wars are stupid, especially ones that nobody wants and have never been explained.

Americans are exhausted.

AI is like my new best friend that also might be trying to take my job, my ability to think for myself, and my humanity in the process. Yo like I love you, but WTF, but I still love you.

Diversity is actually awesome! The opposite is boring AF.

Canadians are super fucking cool.

Mexicans are chill.

Putin isn’t a good guy looking out for America’s best interest. Rocky IV and Miracle are great movies.

Good neighbors are a blessing.

Freedom of religion and coexistence without having to blow each other up is probably a good idea.

We all question, are we alone in the universe?

We all fuck up along the way.

Epstein didn’t hang himself.

The Trumps and Epstein were best friends for decades. It’s like Bert trying to tell us Ernie was just an acquaintance in the same social scene on Sesame Street back in the day.

The Cowboys suck. Go Birds!

Things we’re told to fight about:

Me.
Laptop.
Vaccines.
Transgenders in sports.
Pronouns.

That’s the joke.

[Tampa Bay Lightning @TBLightning]

Time to rise to the occasion.

[memes.xlsx @ExcelHumor]

when claude gets a little attitude with me

[Ryan Orr @RyanOrr1994]

@KPILLAR4 @Sportsnet @SNETCampbell Why they keep scoring less runs than the other teams do

[Ryan Orr @RyanOrr1994]

Can Sid play in OT? #CanadaStrong

[Ryan Orr @RyanOrr1994]

Nikita Kucherov is having one of the greatest months of hockey I’ve ever seen and he’s done it for the most part by turning Darren Raddysh into Cale Makar. Incredible.

[JFresh @JFreshHockey]

Here's a fun stat: just 15 players had more points in the entire 2014-15 season than Kucherov has in his past 32 games.

[Scott Robertson @sarobertson_]

Prime Minister Carney on Václav Havel's "The Power of the Powerless" and the current world order.

[Ryan Orr @RyanOrr1994]

@FriedgeHNIC *Marchand plays for the Florida Panthers

Forgot that one

[Ryan Orr @RyanOrr1994]

Someday, when Brandon Hagel’s career is cut short due to concussions, he would be well within his rights to sue the NHL for negligence

[Lightning Insider @Erik_Erlendsson]

No Brandon Hagel on the ice as #GoBolts begin practice this morning. Ryan McDonagh and Andrei Vasilevskiy are both taking part #TBLightning

[Ryan Orr @RyanOrr1994]

@DavidWCochrane I got less than 1 minute into that video before my ADHD started making me think how funny it would be to have MP Chris Daughtry singing a zippy satirical Christmas carol

[Doug Ford @fordnation]

With the Blue Jays heading to the World Series against the LA Dodgers, @CAgovernor Newsom and I have a friendly wager going. Win or lose, we’re thrilled to celebrate great baseball, good neighbours and a friendship between Ontario and California!

[Ryan Orr @RyanOrr1994]

Got away from my niche for a while.

People that resell tickets at ridiculous prices for big events for a living: Confirmed Dirtbags.

[Ryan Orr @RyanOrr1994]

I’ve decided my only tweets henceforth will be confirming dirtbag status of people.

[Ryan Orr @RyanOrr1994]

This is gonna sound crazy, but if you don’t have headphones, you should respectfully decline a FaceTime in public places

[NHLPA @NHLPA]

Congratulations to Nikita Kucherov, who takes home his second career #TedLindsayAward with the players’ vote.

The @TBLightning forward led the NHL in points, assists, primary assists ​and power-play points this season: https://t.co/E3CdPrc1yI #NHLAwards

[Melanie 🇨🇦 @Mellyfax]

"I'm a very different person than Justin Trudeau "

[Ryan Orr @RyanOrr1994]

What the absolute fuck did I just watch? Great work, America, you’ve gotten the fascism you’ve always dreamt of

[Visegrád 24 @visegrad24]

BREAKING:

The video of the shouting match between Zelensky and Trump was just released.