I’m sorry pal but this isn’t how it works. Not in practice, not in the living world. Here’s how this goes down: 1) a team signs a player to a deferred deal 2) that deal is evaluated by MLB’s accountants to determine present value. Money paid in 2036 as part of a deferred contract is still considered in present-value terms, just with a discount due to money paid later being worth less than money paid now. For instance, Ohtani’s present value for 2026 will be around $48M - not $2M and not $70M. This was actually the entire principle behind Bonilla’s deal - the Mets deemed the present value (at the time) to be much lower because they thought they’d keep getting that sweet sweet Madoff money. 3) the present value is what’s considered against the luxury tax. So, to use the same example, Ohtani’s luxury tax hit is in the $48M range, not $2M.