As expected, there were difficulties, but Kim Ha-seong (28‧ San Diego), who overcame the crisis smoothly, has now become an indispensable player on the team. Last year, he announced his perfect adaptation by improving his Gold Glove-level defense and offense. The word ‘overlapping investment’ disappeared as if it was like that.
Kim Ha-seong, who chose to challenge the major leagues through the posting system (private competitive bidding), signed a four-year, $28 million (approximately 34.6 billion won) contract with San Diego ahead of the 2021 season. But that’s not all. Incentives are applied every year, and when the 5-year mutual option is executed, the contract size jumps up to a total of 39 million dollars (approximately 48.3 billion won) over 5 years.
Then, how much did Kim Ha-seong earn during his first two years? It is common that only the club and the player know the exact details of the contract, but it can be roughly guessed through the report of ‘AP News’ at the time of the contract.
If you look at Ha-sung Kim’s guaranteed amount of $28 million, $4 million of which is the signing bonus, which we commonly refer to as a down payment. The down payment is divided over 4 years in the amount of $1 million each. He received 2 million dollars (approximately 2.48 billion won) for two years.스포츠토토
In addition, the annual salary in 2022 was $4 million, and the annual salary in 2023 was $5 million. In other words, he received a total of 11 million dollars (approximately 13.6 billion won) in down payment and annual salary for two years.
Incentives are added. At the time, it was known that Kim Ha-seong agreed on the condition of receiving incentives according to the number of at-bats. 400 at-bats are $100,000, 450 and 500 at-bats are $200,000 each, and 550 and 600 at-bats are $250,000 each. In this way, a total of $1 million in incentives is at stake per year.
In 2021, Ha-seong Kim recorded 298 at-bats in 117 games, falling short of the minimum incentive conditions. However, last year, due to Fernando Tatis Jr.’s injury and drug suspension, he proudly became the starting shortstop, and earned $750,000 in incentives by digesting a total of 582 at-bats. It is expected that a statement of 11.75 million dollars (approximately 14.6 billion won), including his two-year down payment, annual salary, and incentives, was stamped.
Ha-seong Kim spends half of the season in San Diego, and the state of California, where San Diego belongs, is a town rumored to have high alcohol prices in the United States. He definitely pays more in taxes than playing in Texas or elsewhere. It is difficult to know exactly how much money is actually in hand.
However, even if they play in the KBO league, high-income earners pay a very high tax rate anyway. Looking at the current free agency situation in the KBO market, it seems clear that he is making far more money than playing in the KBO league. Twice as much can be estimated. The clock toward the major league pension that cannot be ignored is also turning one after another.
2 more years to come First of all, you have to get the remaining $2 million down payment. The salary in 2023 is $6 million, and the salary in 2024, the last year of the contract, is $7 million. Even if you don’t think about incentives, unless you are disciplined, only the amount that is unconditionally guaranteed in the future is 15 million dollars (approximately 18.6 billion won). Considering the current weight in the team, it is expected that it will be able to earn more than 16 million dollars (approximately 19.8 billion won) including incentives. The sum of Ha-seong Kim’s annual salary for 7 years in the KBO League was about 1.634 billion won. You can feel the success of Kim Ha-sung.
The remaining $2 million of the $28 million guaranteed is a buyout. If San Diego gives up before the mutual option is executed, it simply receives $2 million. However, contrary to San Diego’s wishes, under the current situation, it is unlikely that Ha-seong Kim will agree to execute an option of up to $9 million with a guarantee of $8 million in 2025 and incentives. Because if he goes to the market, he can get more money and even a long-term contract.