Darvish Makes ‘One of the Biggest Donations Ever’ — After Giving Up His ¥2.35 Billion Salary, His Devotion to San Diego Continues

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The story

On September 21, Full-Count reported that San Diego Padres pitcher Yu Darvish continues to support a team charitable facility that was established in 1961. This season, sidelined all year by injury, Darvish forfeited the entirety of his contracted ¥2.35 billion salary, and this latest donation is being described as “one of the largest ever.” On 5channel, opinions were divided over the precedent set by forfeiting a salary, the tax considerations behind choosing to donate in the U.S. rather than to disaster-stricken areas of Japan, and comparisons to other athletes like Shohei Ohtani and footballer Takefusa Kubo.

Mon, Sep 21, 3:56 PM

Full-Count

Since the facility was established in 1961… carrying on the wishes of the team’s late owner

Source: topics.smt.docomo.ne.jp / Read the original article

What people said

3AnonymousSep 21, 2026 22:20
Honestly, he should've just donated the money outright instead of forfeiting his salary.
He shouldn't have set this crappy precedent.
Don't go spreading Japan's idiotic values overseas.
62AnonymousSep 21, 2026 22:43
Re: #3
Agreed. It's a heartwarming story in Japan, but overseas they'd probably just call him an idiot.
4AnonymousSep 21, 2026 22:20
Don't need the 'devotion' act.
You're a pro, aren't you?
5AnonymousSep 21, 2026 22:20
Hey Darvish, how about buying the Chunichi Dragons?
50AnonymousSep 21, 2026 22:37
Re: #5
That team won't spend money but won't sell either.
What about the Rakuten Eagles instead?
6AnonymousSep 21, 2026 22:21
Is it awkward for him being Iranian (his father is Iranian)?
7AnonymousSep 21, 2026 22:21
He should be donating to Tohoku earthquake or Kumamoto earthquake relief instead.
12AnonymousSep 21, 2026 22:23
Re: #7
Donating to Japan is a huge tax hassle.
If you donate ¥1 billion, you could end up owing another ¥500 million in taxes.
75AnonymousSep 21, 2026 22:54
Re: #12
Yeah, since he lives in the US, that would apply.
Chappy (net slang for ChatGPT) says it'd be around ¥250 million.
8AnonymousSep 21, 2026 22:22
Every other MLB player, in unison: "Don't go doing unnecessary stuff!"
10AnonymousSep 21, 2026 22:22
Are you sure you're not being shaken down for money? If something's bothering you, call a support hotline.
11AnonymousSep 21, 2026 22:23
He's going to get frozen out by the other players.

Forfeiting your salary — which is a player's right — like that…
It makes players who don't forfeit theirs look like the bad guys.
15AnonymousSep 21, 2026 22:24
The kid who used to smoke at a pachinko parlor in Okinawa has really turned into a fine man.
35AnonymousSep 21, 2026 22:30
Re: #15
Wasn't it Kamagaya or Ichikawa, not Okinawa?
17AnonymousSep 21, 2026 22:24
He should donate to former pro baseball players instead.
A lot of them are broke and turning to crime.
53AnonymousSep 21, 2026 22:39
Re: #17
Maybe setting up a company to help with their career transitions would be good.
18AnonymousSep 21, 2026 22:25
Wait, what?
He's already forfeited it, on his Padres contract?
I heard something about the Padres leaking this out of spite, forcing his hand.
19AnonymousSep 21, 2026 22:25
He's got a lot of kids, so he might end up poor down the line.
20AnonymousSep 21, 2026 22:25
Hasn't he retired?
22AnonymousSep 21, 2026 22:26
Re: #20
He's under contract through 2028.
He's been out all season with an injury.
And he forfeited his entire salary.
23AnonymousSep 21, 2026 22:26
Guess Sho-hei will follow his senpai's example and donate ¥2.3 billion for sure.
The fact that he deliberately never goes past ¥50 million is out of deference to Darvish.
25AnonymousSep 21, 2026 22:27
Darvish, who used to be such a delinquent, is turning into a saint.
26AnonymousSep 21, 2026 22:27
What's Ohtani gonna do now?
Since Darvish donated, he pretty much has to as well, right?
27AnonymousSep 21, 2026 22:27
That's insane.
Just 1% of that would do.
Please give it to me.
37AnonymousSep 21, 2026 22:32
Re: #35
AI Overview:
In his rookie year with the Nippon-Ham Fighters, in February 2005, Yu Darvish was reported by a tabloid photo magazine for underage smoking and visiting a pachinko parlor during Okinawa spring training, and received an indefinite suspension.
45AnonymousSep 21, 2026 22:35
Re: #37
Here comes the AI copy-paste guy again (slang for someone who pastes AI-generated summaries into threads).
42AnonymousSep 21, 2026 22:33
Isn't it the case that celebrities over there kind of have to do charity work, or it looks bad?
44AnonymousSep 21, 2026 22:34
Re: #42
Nah, it's not really like that.
65AnonymousSep 21, 2026 22:45
If Ohtani donates ¥100 billion too, I'll seriously start following his example.
72AnonymousSep 21, 2026 22:52
Re: #65
If you donate ¥1,000 too, maybe Ohtani will recognize you lol
81AnonymousSep 21, 2026 22:57
This is just standard practice for celebrities in America.
Ohtani has his own foundation and does charity work too.
MLB players in particular donate a ton.
You never hear about this kind of thing in soccer though.
Do guys like Kubo or Mitoma donate at all?
88AnonymousSep 21, 2026 23:04
Re: #81
Even top Japanese players like Kubo and Mitoma only make a few hundred million yen a year, so don't compare them to MLB players pulling in billions.
They probably donated something to Kumamoto earthquake relief or whatever, I don't really know.
87AnonymousSep 21, 2026 23:02
Darvish is different, but rich Americans' donations are usually about tax savings.
They go looking for other people's misfortune to throw money at.
And the recipients know it too, so they take the money without much gratitude.
92AnonymousSep 21, 2026 23:09
Re: #87
You only get a deduction, so donating still leaves you with less money in hand.
In Japan, with a tax-credit type donation, your net take-home stays the same.
And with furusato nozei (the hometown tax donation program) you actually get goods back, so you come out ahead.
It's basically like begging.

Background and Key Points of This Discussion

Darvish has played for the Padres since 2018 and is known for his ongoing community contributions through the team’s charitable activities. The facility reported on this time was established in 1961, and his support is described as carrying on the wishes of the team’s former owner. In the thread, opinions were divided over the merits of forfeiting a salary as a method, the reasoning behind choosing to donate in the U.S. rather than to disaster-affected areas of Japan, and the size of the tax burden involved — though the specific tax figures and mechanisms cited varied from post to post, and no official confirmation had been established as of this article. Some posts also referenced past events, such as the 2005 reports of underage smoking, but this is a previously reported, already-known fact, and this article adds no new claims about it. Comparisons of donation amounts with other athletes like Shohei Ohtani, Takefusa Kubo, and Kaoru Mitoma also came up, but it should be noted these aren’t simple apples-to-apples comparisons given the differences in contract scale and systems between sports.

※This article is compiled as an excerpt and summary of the 5channel (Geinou/Sports News+) thread “[MLB] Darvish Makes “One of the Biggest” Donations — After “Forfeiting” His ¥2.35 Billion Salary, His Devotion to San Diego Continues.”

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