Shohei Ohtani’s life and career continues to shift in new directions on and off the field. Perhaps the most coveted free agent in professional sports since LeBron James hit the market in 2010, Ohtani and his dual-nature services were hotly pursued by various suitors, only to land mere miles away with the Los Angeles Dodgers via an earth-shattering $700 million contract. Off the field, Ohtani broke hearts across the globe by announcing his marriage to long-time partner Mamiko Tanaka, herself a professional athlete.
His personal business ventures and sponsorships are getting a swift change as well: New Balance just announced a brand new athlete logo for their premiere athlete, and instead of showing the Japanese star’s hitting or pitching ability, it instead focuses on his overall athletic prowess running the bases.
“It is a visual representation of my journey in baseball and I am excited to share it with the world. I also look forward to using this logo with future projects that we will reveal throughout the 2024 season,” says Shohei.
To celebrate the unveiling of this new emblem, New Balance will launch a limited edition t-shirt featuring the new symbol via a premium label at the bottom left of the shirt. Additionally, a limited edition baseball glove will be available for purchase on March 27th, 2024. Additionally, New Balance will host a special pop-up on March 27th frpm 3pm-7pm local time at 11713 Gorham Ave in the Los Angeles area.
While there are no announcements regarding Ohtani’s footwear, we can anticipate the new Shohei logo to grace some lifestyle models as well as signature cleats. For now, you can check out the official We Got Now spot with Shohei above, as well as a “making-of” revealing the process behind the logo design below.