Star outfielder Juan Soto has officially signed a monstrous contract with the New York Mets worth $765 million over 15 years, breaking a previous record for the largest contract ever signed with a Major League Baseball team.
The contract, which pays Soto an average of $51 million per season, also includes a no-trade clause, a $75 million signing bonus, and an opt-out clause after five seasons, according to The MLB.
Neither Soto nor the Mets have officially confirmed the contract due to a pending physical, but multiple sources have confirmed it, and the team is expected to announce the agreement shortly.
This contract with the Mets breaks the record for the largest contract ever signed between an MLB team and player, surpassing the 10-year contract worth $700 million that Shohei Ohtani signed with the Los Angeles Dodgers last season, per The Associated Press.
The biggest difference between these two contracts is that Ohtani’s deal with the Dodgers also includes the deferment of roughly 97% of the money. In contrast, Soto’s contract is expected to include zero deferred funds, per ESPN.
Although Soto has already secured the largest contract in professional baseball history, a clause in the contract could result in an overall payment of north of $800 million.
The contract includes a clause forcing the Mets to increase Soto’s average yearly pay from $51 million to $55 million if the franchise wants to avoid the possibility of him opting out in 2029, bringing the total worth of the contract to roughly $805 million, according to Sports Illustrated.
Soto was the most sought-after player in the free agency market following the 2024 MLB season, with a plethora of teams looking to sign him to a massive contract that would keep him with the franchise for the foreseeable future.
The signing of Soto reportedly involved multiple face-to-face meetings with the star outfielder and three rounds of bidding, which drove the price up to historic levels, as reported by ESPN.
The 26-year-old outfielder put together an impressive season with the New York Yankees last year, batting .288 while hitting 41 home runs and 109 runs-batted-in.
Soto led the league with 128 runs during the season while having the second-best on-base percentage at .419 and third-best slugging percentage at .569.
This impressive season also included a run to the World Series with the Yankees. Soto appeared in 14 postseason games, increasing his batting average, on-base percentage, and slugging percentage to .327, .469, and .633.