New York Yankees fans woke up to the news that one of their biggest stars signed a monster contract with a cross-town rival.
Usually bidding war stories end with the 27-time World Series champion Yanks signing a superstar for an unheard of amount. However, this year, how ESPN's Jeff Passan (who also broke the news of the contract) noted, “A Yankee chose to be a Met.”
PAGE: Superstar outfielder Juan Soto and the New York Mets are in agreement on a 15-year, $765 million contract, sources tell ESPN. It's the biggest deal in the history of professional sports.
– Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) December 9, 2024
Four-time All-Star Juan Soto, 26, signed a 15-year, $765 million contract Sunday with the New York Mets, multiple sources told ESPN. The contract reportedly has a $75 million signing bonus, no deferred money and a option to opt out after the 2029 season.
The deal would be the greatest in sports history. Kansas City Chiefs QB Patrick Mahomes, 29, signed the largest contract in the NFL in 2020 at 10 years, $477 million. This past summer, Boston Celtics' Jayson Tatum, 26, signed the richest contract in NBA history for five years and $314 million.
ABOUT just baseball it tops the previous largest contract, 30-year-old Dodger Shohei Ohtani's 10-year deal signed through 2023 for $700 million. The next largest contract is 32-year-old Yankees superstar Aaron Judge's contract in 2022 for nine years at $360 million.
(Photo by Jim McIsaac/Getty Images)
The Yankees reportedly offered their star player, who helped the 2024 team to the World Series, a whopping $700 million over 15 seasons. But in the end, Soto went with the biggest deal, leaving the Bronx for Queens—and more millions.
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The news placed the Mets with the second-highest odds to win the 2025 World Series, for Bet MGMbehind the Los Angeles Dodgers. The Mets lost to the Dodgers in the 2024 NLCS.
Meanwhile, the Yankees franchise is MLB's richest team, is estimated to be of value more than $7.5 billion, while the Mets are No. 6 on the list, worth about $3 billion.
The league's least valuable team, the Miami Marlins (disclaimer: this author is a Marlins fan), is worth a estimated at $1 billionjust embarrassed by Soto's contract.
If Soto sticks to his contract and continues his success, he could have a future career as a team owner.
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