Juan Soto is the kind of MLB player the entire sports world was expecting would command a big payday in free agency, so it comes as no surprise to see him land the largest deal in North American sports history. If anything, the only somewhat surprising thing is what team ended up landing Soto. Everyone expected the player would end up back with the New York Yankees, the team he played with the last season, and the one he helped lead to the World Series.
Instead, Soto will be staying in New York, but moving to the New York Mets—and perhaps helping them get that World Series trophy they have been waiting for. And helping the Mets do that has cost them a pretty penny indeed. Even more than the Dodgers paid for Shohei Ohtani.
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The deal is reportedly worth $765 million over 15 years. That’s already a pretty big number because it means Soto will be paid $51 million on average annually. On top of that, he’s getting a $75 million signing bonus, and the deal has escalators that can reach above $800 million.
Additionally, the deal has an opt-out clause after year five, in 2029. The Mets can void that opt-out, but in doing so, they would escalate the average annual value from $51 million to $55 million over the final 10 seasons of the deal.
Considering all this money, how much is Juan Soto worth now? Here are the numbers.
Juan Soto’s net worth
Juan Soto will be worth a lot more going forward, but that doesn’t mean what he’s worth now is a small number. In fact, Soto is already believed to be worth around $100 million, according to Celebrity Net Worth. And he started pretty young.
Soto signed with the Washington Nationals as an international free agent in 2015, getting a $1.5 million bonus at age 16. Then, of course, he just had to play on and prove he was good until he was eligible for arbitration and his first year eligible—in 2021, he cashed in, making $8.5 million. After that, he turned down some big MLB contracts, clearly understanding his time would come, like a 13-year $350 million dollar offer from the Nationals and a 15-year $440 million dollar extension a year later.
The Nationals, looking to get something out of Soto, traded him to the Padres. The Padres, meanwhile, traded him to the Yankees, who were very sure they could use Soto and then sign him to a long-term contract. And they almost did—the Yankees were reportedly the frontrunners in the Soto sweepstakes until the Mets swooped in with a better offer at the last minute and literally made Soto the kind of offer he could not turn down.
Reportedly, the offer from the Yankees was 16-year, $760 million. The Boston Red Sox were believed to have also made an offer for Soto that was around $700 million over 15 years.
Now, a season after teaming up with AL MVP Aaron Judge for one of the most devastating offensive duos in the league, Soto is headed to the other NY team, where he will, ironically, team up with NL MVP runner-up Francisco Lindor. And who knows, he might be seeing the Yankees again soon, perhaps even in the World Series. He will just be on the other side of the field this time.