SIGNED: Soto Becomes Highest Paid Player in MLB History

While you were asleep, Juan Soto became the highest paid player in MLB history, demolishing the mark set last winter by Shohei Ohtani. Soto has decided to take his talents across town to the New York Mets, on an insane 15-year, $765 million deal.

Breaking: Juan Soto and the New York Mets are in agreement on a 15-year, $765 million contract, sources tell @jeffpassan.

It is the largest deal in professional sports history. pic.twitter.com/JjwUbhEIpn
— ESPN (@espn) December 9, 2024

Baseball insider Jeff Passan tells us that the Yankees offered a $760 million contract over 16 years, not materially different, but Soto believed that Queens was the place to be:

"I think Juan Soto looked at the New York Mets' future ... and believed that the Mets have a better future than Yankees."@JeffPassan tells @notthefakeSVP on why Soto chose the Mets over the Yankees despite only a $5M difference 👀 pic.twitter.com/lL4bXmARGD
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) December 9, 2024

"I think Juan Soto looked at the New York Mets' future ... and believed that the Mets have a better future than Yankees," said Passan. "This, I think, is just the beginning (for the Mets), they are going to continue to spend money."

The math on this deal breaks it down to $314,814.81 per game for Soto for the next 15 seasons. And it's all fully guaranteed.

And Soto certainly has enjoyed playing at Citi Field in his career, as Will Sammon tells us: In 35 career games at the Mets ballpark (146 plate appearances), Soto has a 1.175 OPS with 12 home runs, including two of the five longest home runs in the stadium’s history (466 feet, 463 feet).

At the age of just 26, Soto is a four-time All-Star, with one World Series championship and another appearance there, with a lifetime .285 average, an outrageous .421 on-base percentage with a .953 OPS. He set a personal best with 41 home runs with the Yankees in 2024, while driving in 109 and scoring 128 runs.

The Mets have their anchor for the future.

What this means for Pete Alonso remains to be seen.