Padres Star Fernando Tatis on Hook for Millions After Legal Setback

A California state judge ruled that Padres star Fernando Tatis Jr. owes Big League Advance nearly $3.74 million as he tries to void an agreement to pay the firm 10% of his future MLB earnings.

The Friday ruling means Tatis must abide by the arbitrator’s October decision, which determined he must pay BLA an arbitration award of roughly $3.23 million, plus $240,515 in interest, $250,000 in attorneys’ fees, and $14,349 in other costs, totalling just under $3.74 million.

Tatis signed a futures earnings contract with BLA in 2017, when he was 18 years old, under which the firm paid him $2 million in exchange for 10% of his future MLB earnings. Tatis stopped making payments to BLA in 2024, and in September of that year, BLA initiated arbitration proceedings to recoup money it claimed it was owed. The $3.74 million arbitration award reflects the amount Tatis owes in the wake of stopping payments.

In June of last year, Tatis sued BLA, claiming the future earnings contract was predatory. In September of last year, the arbitrator determined that BLA was due the nearly $3.74 million award.

The following month, Tatis filed a petition in San Diego County circuit court, contending that the agreement with BLA should be voided under the California Financing Law (CFL). But according to California state judge Judy S. Bae, Tatis filed his petition too late. 

“Tatis was required to raise his CFL challenges to the Player Agreement before arbitration proceedings began and has therefore waived judicial review of such challenges,” the judge wrote.

Tatis will likely appeal the decision, his attorney, Maurice Mitts, tells Front Office Sports. If the ruling stands, it could have huge financial implications for him moving forward. He signed a 14-year, $340 million deal with the Padres in 2021, meaning BLA would get $34 million from his current contract alone. His suit also claimed BLA did not tell Tatis that it was unlicensed and “failed to adequately disclose” details, including that for certain time periods the deal carried a 90% annual interest rate.

Not All Lost

The judge did rule in favor of Tatis on a separate, jurisdictional issue, siding with the player on his claim that California law is applicable even though he signed the contract while overseas, and with a company in BLA that is based in Delaware. 

“Delaware’s interest in this dispute is minimal, because the agreement was negotiated in the Dominican Republic and signed there,” the judge wrote. “Additionally, because Tatis made payments on the Player Agreement as a player for the San Diego Padres, the Player Agreement was largely performed in California.”

According to Mitts, that aspect of the judge’s ruling is very important. The judge did not rule on the merits of BLA’s agreement with Tatis, Mitts notes. Instead, she simply determined that the petition from Tatis came too late. Mitts says the judge also found that BLA can be considered a lender.

“The court made significant findings against BLA, and the only thing they prevailed on was timeliness of the challenge,” Mitts tells FOS. That is something which we are very likely to appeal, and we feel strongly we have a very good chance.”

Tatis received an 80-game suspension in 2022 for the use of performance-enhancing drugs. Hailing from the Dominican Republic, he is a Golden Glove Award winner and two-time All-Star. His father, Fernando Tatis Sr., spent 11 seasons in MLB from 1997 to 2010.

A representative for BLA did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Sunday.