Non-FA conglomerates appear one after another. Naturally, attention is focused on the signboards in their 20s.
LG has concluded a non-FA multi-year contract with leading star Oh Ji-hwan. My Daily reported a six-year guarantee period early, and on the 19th, a contract of 12.4 billion won was announced. The guaranteed amount is KRW 10 billion, and the option is KRW 2.4 billion. It is known that the amount received may change each year depending on the change in the salary cap.
Oh Ji-Hwan’s non-FA multi-year contract is the 8th in the KBO League. It is also the fourth case in history to exceed 10 billion won. It is also the first contract worth 10 billion won for a central infielder when including FA contracts. He has been certified once again as the next-generation LG dugout leader following Kim Hyun-soo and the best shortstop in the KBO League.
▲KBO League history of non-FA multi-year contracts
December 14, 2021/Park Jong-hoon/SSG/5 years 6.5 billion won
December 14, 2021/Moon Seung-won/SSG/5 years 5.5 billion won
December 25, 2021/Hanyu Island/SSG /5 years, 6 billion won
, February 3, 2022/Jauk Koo/Samsung/5 years, 12 billion won
, March 8, 2022/Kim Kwang-hyeon/SSG/4 years, 15.1 billion won
, October 26, 2022/Park Se-woong/Lotte/5 years, 9 billion won
December 17, 2022/Changmo Gu/NC/6+1 year 13.2 billion
January 19, 2023/Oh Ji-hwan/LG/6 year 12.4 billion
The highest non-FA multi-year contract ever is Kim Gwang-hyun’s 15.1 billion won. Oh Ji-hwan became the protagonist with the highest amount of non-FA contracts for field players, but he could not surpass Kim Gwang-hyun’s stronghold when including pitchers. Oh Ji-hwan is also Oh Ji-hwan, but this is also the part that reveals how great a player Kim Gwang-hyun is.
A total of five clubs including SSG, Samsung, Lotte, NC, and LG jumped into non-FA multi-year contracts. Five clubs, including Doosan, Kiwoom, KT, Hanwha, and KIA, do not yet have non-FA multi-year contracts. Interestingly, the size of non-FA multi-year contracts is gradually increasing. 먹튀검증
At the time Park Jong-hoon, Moon Seung-won, and Hanyu Island signed a contract, Ryu Seon-gyu, former general manager of SSG, said, “Non-FA multi-year contracts are a structure in which the total amount is inevitably reduced.” This is because it is not a contract signed through competition with other clubs. However, contrary to what former general manager Ryu said, non-FA contracts signed since last year exceeded at least 9 billion won.
It has been proven that a KBO league player can earn as much money as a free agent contract with a non-free agent multi-year contract. Clubs approach from a strictly business perspective and never invest in unnecessary power. However, if it is judged to be a core with high future value and symbolism, boldly open the wallet. For clubs, the surest strategy to avoid sending the player to the FA market is money.
What we are interested in now is the core prospects in their 20s from each club. Players who have already established themselves as key players and have proven their averages should be viewed as potential non-FA multi-year contract candidates. It is also a point to watch when KIA and Hanwha, which have traditionally invested hotly in the FA market, will join the non-FA multi-year contract.
At the current trend, it is only a matter of time before Kim Gwang-hyun’s 15.1 billion won contract comes down from the top spot in single contract amount. The fight for first place overall in FA single contract amount and non-FA single contract amount is also a sign of interesting development. The first place in the total single contract amount is by far Yang Eui-ji (Doosan)’s 4+2 year 15.2 billion won.