Today on Forbes, the highest paid MLB players, 2026.

With Major League Baseball's official opening day on Thursday, with most of the league's teams playing their first game, plus first and opening night game on Wednesday,

it's that time of year when we check in on the league's highest paid players.

After solidifying his status as the

Babe Ruth of the 21st century with a second straight World Series ring and yet another MVP,

becoming only the second MLB player ever to win the award three years in a row,

Shohei Otani is also making history off the field. The Los Angeles Dodgers' two-way sensation is set to collect an estimated $127 million in

2026 before taxes and agents fees, a record for a baseball player.

The vast majority of the payday, an estimated $125 million, comes from endorsement deals,

licensing, memorabilia, and other business ventures, with roughly two dozen sponsors in the

United States and Otani's native Japan, paying a heavy premium to associate with him.

Since Forbes began tracking athletes' earnings in 1990,

only one has surpassed the 31-year-old Otani's projected off-field total in a single year,

while still active in his sport.

MMA star Connor McGregor,

who brought in an estimated $158 million over the 12 months ending in May 2021, almost all of it from the sale

of his Irish whiskey brand, proper number 12.

Otani has reached that financial stratosphere on a much more conventional route, through

partnerships with American brands such as Fanatics and New Balance, which has given him

a signature shoe line,

and with a long list of Japanese companies.

Japan Airlines, for instance, uses a specially painted, quote, Dream Showjet for some roots,

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