Soto Remains in the Big Apple, Flips to Mets on Mega Deal

Superstar outfielder Juan Soto and the New York Mets are in agreement on a 15-year, $765 million contract, sources told ESPN on Sunday night, the largest deal in professional sports history.

The deal includes an opt-out after five years and no deferred money, sources said. If Soto chooses not to opt out, his deal will go up $4 million per year -- from $51 million to $55 million -- for the remainder of the contract, meaning the total value could exceed $800 million.

The contract also includes a $75 million signing bonus, sources said.

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The 26-year-old Soto, whose prodigious power, discerning eye and postseason bona fides created a free agent frenzy among some of the game's blue-blood teams, joins a Mets squad that made a surprising run to the National League Championship Series last season and is now poised to contend for years to come.

Following a standout season with the New York Yankees in which he guided the team to the World Series and finished third in American League MVP voting, Soto's presence in the free agent market drew significant interest. While the Mets, Yankees, Toronto Blue Jays, Boston Red Sox and Los Angeles Dodgers were among the final bidders, teams across the financial spectrum -- including the lower-payroll Kansas City Royals and Tampa Bay Rays -- explored signing Soto, covetous of his special bat.

The Yankees fielded a competitive offer -- a 16-year, $760 million deal with an annual average value of $47.5 million and no deferrals, sources told ESPN's Buster Olney. Ultimately, though, Soto decided on the Mets.

In seven major league seasons, the 6-foot-2, 220-pound Soto has hit .285/.421/.532 with 201 home runs and 592 RBIs and has accumulated more than 36 wins above replacement. Despite below-average corner-outfield defense, Soto distinguished himself with the best command of the strike zone since Barry Bonds, allowing him to hunt and punish pitches over the plate.

The $765 million guarantee exceeds the $700 million the Dodgers gave two-way star Shohei Ohtani on a 10-year deal last winter. While 97% of Ohtani's salary will be deferred for 10 years, Soto's deal contains no deferred money, lifting the net present value of his deal well above Ohtani's.

The contract, agreed upon after a monthlong sprint that included face-to-face meetings, three rounds of bidding and agent Scott Boras leveraging Soto's talent to drive the price to stratospheric levels, further validated Soto's decision in 2022 to turn down a 15-year, $440 million offer from the Washington Nationals, who had signed him as a 16-year-old out of the Dominican Republic and watched him blossom into one of the best players in the major leagues. Soon after Soto rejected the Nationals' overtures, they traded him to the San Diego Padres, starting a whirlwind 2½-year stretch that saw Soto moved twice.