DALLAS — It was the year 2000 at the Hilton Anatole in Dallas when superstar shortstop Alex Rodríguez signed a massive, 10-year, $252 million deal with the Texas Rangers, becoming the highest paid player in the history of professional sports, with his agent, Scott Boras, getting it done.
Twenty-four years later, at the onset of the winter meetings at the same hotel in Dallas, history has repeated itself. This time, it’s Juan Soto who becomes the man of record, with Boras once again sending shockwaves through the sport after Soto agreed Sunday to a 15-year, $765 million deal with the New York Mets. The deal overtakes Shohei Ohtani’s 10-year, $700 million pact with the Dodgers as the largest contract in the history of professional sports.
Soto’s signing is a monumental win for the Mets. Not only do they secure a generational talent for potentially the next 15 years (Soto has an opt-out after the fifth year), but they also continue to build on a future that looks very bright. Coming off an NLCS appearance in 2024, the Mets add the 26-year-old superstar to a lineup that includes another superstar in shortstop Francisco Lindor, and ascending young talent in Mark Vientos and Francisco Alvarez. This is exactly the step that a team that was on the precipice of the World Series should be taking to get to the next level.
No team in sports has ever made this type of commitment to a player. Not only is the reported deal larger than Ohtani’s, but Soto it will have both the highest average annual value ($51 million) and the highest total value ($765 million) in baseball history, if the deal goes to term.
The details might be even more mind-blowing.
The $75 million signing bonus Soto will receive is larger than Luis Severino’s entire three-year deal with the A’s — which, by the way, was the biggest contract in the franchise’s history. There is reportedly no deferred money in Soto’s deal, and if he opts into the fifth year, escalators could take the total value to $800 million.
This deal has Steve Cohen’s fingerprints all over it. This would never have come to pass under the old Mets ownership. A big reason that Soto’s mega-deal reached the $765-million threshold is because of the bidding war between Cohen and Yankees owner Hal Steinbrenner. After years of the Yankees having the team and ownership group that bullied other teams into submission, the Mets’ owner did just that by taking the former Yankees’ star and entrenching him in Queens.
Had Soto signed with the Dodgers, Phillies, Blue Jays or even Red Sox, his signing wouldn’t have felt like as big of a deal as this does. Soto taking his talents up the 7 train for what was reportedly just $5 million more than the Yankees’ best offer makes this move feel like a heist.
When Cohen purchased the Mets in 2020, this was the outcome other team owners around baseball feared. It was just a matter of time until the 97th-richest man in the world and the wealthiest owner in the sport by far decided that he wouldn’t be denied. And now, with the Mets stealing Soto from their crosstown rivals, the power in New York swings to Queens. Not only did Cohen convince Soto that being a Met is a better option than being a Yankee, but he also signaled to everyone in sports that his sleeping and spending giant is now fully awake.
None of this should come as a surprise to the baseball world. After Cohen purchased the Mets, other owners were so wary of what he might do that they made new tax thresholds in the competitive balance tax (CBT), known as the “Cohen Tax,” to penalize spending at ridiculous levels. This deal laughs in the face of that tax — and in the faces of those owners who have been afraid of using their wealth to improve their teams.
And let’s be clear: Soto’s $765 million deal is merely a starting point for the Mets, who still have areas they can and should improve prior to spring training. A team that invests at this level with one player undoubtedly has its eyes set on much more, and for good reason. If you want this deal to be worth it in the long run, winning better come with it.
Make no mistake. This is a historic day for the Mets. It’s also a sign to the rest of the sport that, like it or not, there’s a new sheriff in town.
