Juan Soto, a 26-year-old Dominican baseball player that played for the New York Yankees during the 2024 season, has reportedly signed a record breaking contract with the New York Mets, the Yankees' main rival in New York City.
Such a move is already of great significance due to the rivalry of the two teams, but what really has shaken up the baseball world is the sum Mets will pay the Dominican player: $765M for 15 years -that's 726M euros-, a record for MLB and baseball in general.
Soto had already ended his contract with the Yankees, and previosly played for San Diego Padres and Washington Nationals, becoming World Series Champion in 2019 with Washington. The four times All-Star also reached the World Series finals in 2024, but lost to Los Angeles Dodgers.
The Dodgers already had the record of the most expensive MLB contract, after signing with Shohei Ohtani last year $765M for ten years.
765 million dollars mean $51 million annually, but the contract has an opt-out clause after five seasons. However, Mets could void Soto's opt-out clause after those five years if they boost the average value from $51 million to $55 million, meaning the final deal could be even larger overall - $805M for fifteen years.
The deal has been confirmed by several outlets, including MLB, but the only thing remaining is for New York Mets to make it official after medical checks.