Superstar outfielder Juan Soto has officially inked a groundbreaking 15-year, $765 million contract with the New York Mets – making it the most lucrative deal in professional sports history.
Soto’s Mets contract is said to contain no deferred money, a $75 million bonus, an opt-out clause to leave after 2029, and several incentives that could make it worth as high as $800 million. That means he won’t receive the bulk of his salary after his playing career, like the agreement in the contract of Los Angeles Dodgers two-way star Shohei Ohtani, who signed a 10-year, $700 million deal before the start of the season.
Soto’s deal shoots him to the top of baseball’s largest contracts ahead of Ohtani, Mike Trout, Mookie Betts, and former teammate Aaron Judge. The latter power hitter is locked in with the Yankees until 2032, when he will be 40 years old, earning a base salary of $40 million per year until expiration. Soto will earn a record-breaking average of $51 million per year with his new deal.
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Not only does Soto’s deal trump all MLB players, but it also beats Kansas City Chiefs three-time Super Bowl champion quarterback Patrick Mahomes’ league-leading 10-year, $450 million deal and NBA champion Jayson Tatum, who signed a 5-year, $314 million dollar extension after winning the title. Soto’s contract also surpasses the likes of three-time NBA MVP Nikola Jokic and Cincinnati Bengals QB Joe Burrow.
Soto moves on from his 157 stint with the New York Yankees, where he hit .288 with 41 home runs, which was fourth in the league. He tied for sixth in RBI with 109 and had a .989 OPS, the third-best in baseball behind Judge [1.159] and Ohtani [1036.]
The four-time MLB All-Star was vital to the Yankees’ World Series run, which resulted in a 4-1 loss to the Dodgers. Despite the loss, Soto maintained his high-level hitting and batting IQ with a .469 OBP, a .327 batting average, four home runs, and nine RBIs in 14 high-stakes games.
The Mets have the finances to lure Soto from the Yankees (
Getty)
The Mets quickly emerged as frontrunners to land Soto as he gauged heavy interests from the Red Sox, Blue Jays, Dodgers, and a reunion with the Bronx Bombers.
The Dodgers signed outfielder Michael Conforto as an alternative to missing out on the slugger. Conforto played the first seven seasons of his career with the Mets, moved on to the Giants in 2023, and hit .237 with 20 home runs and 66 RBI last season.
Soto joined an exclusive list of 162 players who have ever played games for both the Yankees and Mets, including Robinson Cano, Carlos Beltran, and David Cone. Mets owner Steve Cohen’s “ability to pay whatever he wants” was long rumored to be a key factor in his decision-making processes, though Soto openly admitted to fielding offers from all teams before making the final decision best for his career.
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