Juan Soto made headlines in December when he signed a 15-year, $765 million contract, which was by far the largest deal in Major League Baseball history.
Soto was born in the Dominican Republic on October 25th, 1998. He grew up in a baseball-playing family. In 2015, he signed with the Washington Nationals with a $1.5 million signing bonus. Soto played well enough in the minor leagues to debut for the Nationals on May 20th, 2018.
Soto played well, winning the World Series with the team in 2019. In 2020, he was named the batting champion, and in 2021, he experienced his first All-Star Game. On August 2, 2022, the Nationals traded Soto to the San Diego Padres. Then, on December 6, 2023, the Padres traded Soto to the New York Yankees as they had both agreed to a 1-year deal.
Soto played very well, as he had a .288 batting average and slugged 41 home runs. These stats led the Yankees to the World Series, but the Yankees ended up losing to the Dodgers.Since the Yankees only signed Soto to a one-year deal, he would become a free agent the following year.
On December 13, Soto signed with the New York Mets for 15 years and $765 million, plus a $75 million signing bonus. This is a record in sports contract history. The closest player to these numbers is Shohei Ohtani of the LA Dodgers, who signed a 10-year deal for $700 million. That deal was a couple of years before Soto’s, so it was only the biggest deal for a short amount of time.
With a long sports contract comes complications and controversy. As he is currently 26, with a 15-year deal, this would mean he would have to play baseball until he is 41 years old, which isn’t realistically happening. As of right now, there are only six active players over 40 in the league. And there is an opt-out alternative, where Soto could become a free agent if he chooses. This could land Soto on a different team besides the Mets.
So, in all, the New York Mets are taking a gamble by signing Soto to the biggest sports contract in history. Only time can tell how this historical contract will go. Will Soto continue his superstar career, or will he underperform?
