A San Diego Superior Court has finalized a ruling that keeps Fernando Tatís Jr.'s 2017 deal with Big League Advance Fund in place and orders him to pay millions more. On Friday, May 22, the court made final a May 21 tentative decision requiring him to pay the $3.2 million he owed when he sued, plus $240,515 in attorney's fees.
The ruling closes the door, at least for now, on Tatís' effort to unwind an agreement he signed as a teenager in the Dominican Republic in exchange for a $2 million advance. He went on to sign a 14-year, $340 million contract with the Padres in 2021, turning the fight over that earlier deal into a far larger financial dispute.
Tatís filed suit in June 2025, arguing that Big League Advance Fund's chief executive preyed on him when he was 18 and pushed him into giving up 10 percent of his future earnings. In a statement after filing the case, he said he was fighting not just for himself but for other young players still chasing their dream and trying to provide a better life for their families. He also said baseball should be about passion for the game, not dodging businesses driven by profit and greed.
The lawsuit said Michael Schwimer took Tatís to dinner with several people tied to BLA at a restaurant, creating an informal setting while the company focused on the promise of quick cash. Tatís said that atmosphere made it easier for a teenager to be pulled into a deal he did not understand, and he asked a judge to claw it back under California consumer protection laws.
The court did not buy that case. It left the contract standing and upheld the arbitrator's May 2025 decision, meaning Big League Advance Fund keeps its award and Tatís must live with the bargain he struck before his rise to stardom. What remains unanswered is whether he will keep pressing the fight or accept the ruling and move on from a deal that began long before the $340 million payday that followed.
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