Tommy Pham vs. Joc Pederson: How Much Money Was Involved In Fantasy Football Dispute?

New details continue to emerge surrounding Tommy Pham’s slap of Joc Pederson that dominated headlines this past weekend. The bizarre story that led to the Cincinnati Reds outfielder being suspended by Major League Baseball for three games began with a fantasy football dispute and thousands of dollars.

Pham accused Pederson of cheating in their fantasy football league, specifically for violating the rules about putting players on injured reserve. Pederson said he played within the rules and acknowledged that there was “a lot of money involved.” The league had an initial buy-in of $10,000, according to The Athletic.

Manny Machado, Eric Hosmer and Mike Moustakas were among the MLB players who were part of the league, The Athletic reports. Mike Trout was the league’s commissioner, according to Pham. Considering that a typical fantasy football league usually consists of 10 or 12 teams, there could’ve been at least $100,000 at stake.

Pham is signed to a one-year, $7.5 million contract with the Reds. A $10,000 buy-in based on his salary is the equivalent of someone who makes $75,000 a year paying $100 to enter a fantasy league.

Pederson signed a one-year, $6 million contract with the San Francisco Giants in the offseason. The 30-year-old spent the first seven seasons of his MLB career with the Los Angeles Dodgers. Pham was on the San Diego Padres last year.

Pham felt disrespected by Pederson, who poked fun at the Padres in the fantasy league’s group chat. San Diego had MLB’s best record through 50 games in the 2021 season, only to finish below .500 and out of the playoffs.

Pederson was part of the Atlanta Braves’ World Series championship team.

“I looked at it like he was [expletive] with my money along with the disrespect,” Pham told reporters Saturday.

Entering next season, Pham will have earned more than $25 million in his MLB career.