Fernando Tatis Jr. is taking legal action to try to void the future earnings contract he agreed to as a minor leaguer while in his native Dominican Republic in 2017.
The now-26-year-old San Diego Padres star filed a lawsuit Monday against investment company Big League Advance (BLA), which Tatis could owe approximately $34 million of the $340 million, 14-year deal he signed with the Padres in February 2021.
BLA invests in up-and-coming players by offering minor leaguers one-time payments. But, in return, those players have to agree to give the company a cut of their future MLB earnings.
As reported by The Associated Press, Tatis’ attorney, Robert Hertzberg, said Tatis received $2 million from BLA in exchange for 10% of his MLB pay.
So, in addition to the $34 million from Tatis’ 2021 contract with the Padres, he’s currently responsible for paying BLA that same 10% cut on any subsequent MLB deal he inks.
That is, unless the BLA deal is voided.
Tatis’ lawsuit accuses of BLA of using predatory tactics to get him to sign an illegal loan that masqueraded as an “investment deal,” according to the AP. The suit alleges, per the AP, that BLA misrepresented itself to Tatis and violated California consumer protection laws by hiding its unlicensed status and pushing Tatis into banned loan terms.
The suit, filed in the Superior Court of California, County of San Diego, seeks public injunctive relief to protect young athletes from dealing with this same issue, Hertzberg said, according to the AP, which reported Monday that BLA declined to comment for its story.
“I’m fighting this battle not just for myself but for everyone still chasing their dream and hoping to provide a better life for their family,” Tatis said in a statement.
“I want to help protect those young players who don’t yet know how to protect themselves from these predatory lenders and illegal financial schemes — kids’ focus should be on their passion for baseball, not dodging shady business deals.”
At the time of Tatis’ 2021 mega deal, he expressed different feelings about his agreement with BLA.
He told The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal back then that his payment from BLA went toward transforming his minor league training regimen in the U.S. as well as his offseason plan in the Dominican Republic. That included hiring a personal trainer and upgrading his diet and living situation as an MLB prospect.
It’s important to note that the pay scale for Class A players in 2017 was $1,300 per month, and that was only in-season. Not even a top-five organizational prospect like Tatis was exempt from that incredibly-low salary.
“If I’m a successful player and make big money, I’m not going to care about giving that money away,” Tatis told Rosenthal in February 2021. “That will be nothing if I make all that big money.”
Tatis is the son of former third baseman Fernando Tatis Sr., who played 11 MLB seasons from 1997-2010. Since debuting for the Padres at shortstop in 2019, the younger Tatis has made two All-Star appearances, once in 2021 and again in 2024. In 2023, he moved to right field, where he immediately won a Gold Glove.
Injuries and an 80-game PED suspension have limited Tatis’ stardom so far. But he still remains a household name in MLB.
That’s a big reason why the lawsuit he filed against BLA is so compelling.
“California lawmakers have put in place serious, straightforward protections against predatory financial activity, but BLA has still disregarded our laws to pursue a business model built on prohibited, deceptive and abusive practices,” Hertzberg said, via the AP.
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