Late last night, on the eve of the Winter Meetings, Juan Soto signed the largest deal in baseball history with the New York Mets: 15 years, $765 million.
BREAKING: Superstar outfielder Juan Soto and the New York Mets are in agreement on a 15-year, $765 million contract, sources tell ESPN. It is the largest deal in professional sports history.
— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) December 9, 2024
It was reported shortly after that Soto has a fifth-year opt-out that can be voided if the Mets tack on an extra $4 million per season to the final ten years of his deal (raising his AAV to $55 million, and the total value of the deal to a whopping $805 million).
Soto can either opt out after the fifth year (2029) or receive a $4 million raise per season — from $51 million to $55 million — for the remainder of the contract, per source. https://t.co/3Vh6pXJ8ZB
— Jorge Castillo (@jorgecastillo) December 9, 2024
So, assuming the Mets decide they want to keep a 31-year-old Juan Soto around on a ten-year, $550 million contract, the Dominican outfielder is going to accrue nearly one billion dollars over the next decade-and-a-half. In effect,
That means that Soto will be earning approximately $147,031 per day over the duration of his contract. That comes out to more than $6,126 per hour, more than a hundred bucks per minute, and more than a dollar per second.
Even if you're not all that great with numbers, it's easy to understand one thing: Juan Soto is getting PAID. In fact, here's a list of things you could buy if you were Soto and signing your name on his $800 million contract.
What could you buy with Soto's contract?
1) A majority stake in half of the NHL's teams
While Forbes has yet to come out with their updated franchise valuations for the 2024-25 NHL season, a recent report by Sportico unveils that exactly half of the NHL's teams are worth $1.6 billion or less. If Soto takes a liking to hockey over the next few years, he'll have his pick of the litter for which franchise he could own (though, he definitely cannot afford the New York Rangers).
2) A majority stake in the entire WNBA
The WNBA was valued at roughly $1.16 billion at the start of the 2024 season. The popularity of the sport increased drastically this year (in no small part thanks to Caitlin Clark), so Soto may not be able to buy as much of a percentage of the league as he could before, but he could still be the sole majority owner of an entire sport. In fact, he could outright buy (at minimum) any combination of at least five teams around the league.
3) Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson's career
With a net worth of $800 million, Soto's newest contract barely squeezes past the value The Rock has accrued over his legendary wrestling and acting career. Perhaps Soto can convince Johnson to put him in some of his upcoming films.
4) The 2017-24 seasons of the Cincinnati Reds
Over the last eight seasons, the Reds' total payroll comes out to $788,433,455. They haven't accomplished much in that time frame — one playoff appearance in 2020, where they lost 2-0 to the Milwaukee Brewers in the Wild Card round — but if Soto wanted to take credit for that entire stretch, he could. If you were to look at the Pirates or Athletics, Soto's contract is worth more than their entire rosters over the last decade-plus.
5) Every major Golf Tournament, three times over
The total purse of the 13 most expensive golf tournaments in 2024 comes out to $266.5 million. Multiply that by three, and you conveniently get a sum of $799.5 million. If Soto decides to start plying his trade on the links, he could single-handedly fund years worth of golf's most important competitions.
Of course, there are many, many things one could do with $800 million dollars that extend beyond the limited bounds we've explored here.
You could even, for example, sign Juan Soto.