What we know about Juan Soto's deal with the Mets

What we know about Juan Soto’s deal with the Mets

Juan Soto’s new contract has set a record, but there are some complexities to it.

The newest New York Mets star agreed to a 15-year, $765 million deal with his former team’s crosstown rival late Sunday night. Not only does the contract surpass the $700 million deal that Shohei Ohtani signed with the Los Angeles Dodgers last offseason, but it’s also the largest deal in North American sports history.

Here’s what else we know.

No deferred money

Unlike Ohtani’s contract, Soto will receive zero deferred money, according to ESPN. Ohtani memorably had $680 million of his $700 million contract deferred, which brought the average annual value of the contract for Competitive Balance Tax purposes down to $46 million, as estimated by MLB. So, the $51 million average annual value of Soto’s contract would be the richest in MLB history, at least as it relates to the luxury tax.

It could end up being worth more than $800 million

As part of the deal, Soto received a $75 million signing bonus, according to FOX Sports’ Ken Rosenthal.

But the deal has the potential to become even richer. It includes escalators that would bring its value to more than $800 million, according to ESPN.

There’s an opt-out clause

The deal also allows Soto to potentially become a free agent again in his prime. Soto, 26, will have an opt-out following the fifth season of the deal in 2028 when he’s 31, according to multiple reports.

However, the Mets can void Soto’s opt-out if he were to exercise that option. In that event, New York would escalate the average annual value of his contract from $51 million to $55 million over the final 10 seasons of the deal, according to Rosenthal.

Soto rejected big-money offers from the Yankees and Red Sox

Soto also turned down multiple offers worth at least $700 million. His former team, the New York Yankees, made him a 16-year, $760 million offer, the New York Post reported. As the total value of the Yankees’ offer fell just short, it was believed that Soto’s old club was in the lead to land his services before Mets owner Steve Cohen “came in from the top rope,” to get the deal done, SNY reported.

The Boston Red Sox, who were also in on Soto, made an offer that was worth around $700 million over 15 years, per MassLive. It was reported earlier in the week that the Toronto Blue Jays had a bid that was competitive with what the other teams in the sweepstakes were pitching at the time, while the Dodgers were just a little bit behind.

Even though anyone would be happy to be in a position to juggle multiple $700 million offers, Soto seemed to be overjoyed by his decision on Sunday. His brother posted a video on social media of Soto getting sprayed by drinks, ending the priciest sweepstakes in the history of North American sports.

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