MLB Star Signs Largest Contract In Sports History At $765 Million

MLB superstar Juan Soto announced that he will be leaving the New York Yankees and heading across town after inking a contract worth 765-million-dollars over 15 years with the New York Mets.

The deal eclipses the $700 million handed out to Dodgers superstar Shohei Ohtani, who has established himself both as an elite pitcher and hitter at the major league level, a relatively unheard of accomplishment in the modern era of baseball. Ohtani’s contract — which paid off in his first season in Los Angeles when he led the Dodgers to a World Series title — contains a significant amount of deferred money, meaning that it will be paid off years down the line. With the deferrals, the contract was currently valued at roughly $450 million in the present day.

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Juan Soto will become the highest paid player in MLB history 🤯 pic.twitter.com/dj6jikJojb

— FOX Sports: MLB (@MLBONFOX) December 9, 2024

Soto, 26, is set to surpass Ohtani’s contract with the $750 million deal, which could be worth over $800 million by the end of the contract through bonuses and incentives.

The superstar slugger opted to sign at MLB’s annual winter meetings, where owners meet over the course of several days in order to work out signings and trades. He debuted with the Washington Nationals at just 19-years-old and went on to contribute to a World Series-winning team in his rookie year. In the postseason overall, he batted .277/.373/.554 with 5 home runs and 14 RBIs, with three of the home runs coming in the World Series.

He was eventually traded to the San Diego Padres, where he enjoyed more postseason success, when the Nationals opted to rebuild in 2022. He was later traded to the New York Yankees at the conclusion of the 2023 season and led the team to a World Series appearance this past fall.

While Soto’s deal is currently the largest total amount given to a single player in the history of professional sports, the figure will likely be surpassed in the coming years, as the bar for highest paid athlete continues to rise.

In 2017, Argentine soccer superstar Lionel Messi signed a four-year-deal worth $674 million with Barcelona, which at the time was the largest contract both in terms of overall amount and on a yearly basis. Messi’s rival, Portuguese star Christian Ronaldo, inked a 2.5-year deal worth $536,336,818 with Saudi soccer club Al Nassr in 2023, making him the highest-paid athlete on a yearly basis at $214,534,727.

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