‘Generational talent’ Soto seals £600m Mets deal – biggest in history of sport

Juan Soto has signed a $765m (£600m) deal with Major League Baseball’s New York Mets – the biggest contract in the history of the sport.

The 15-year deal was confirmed on Wednesday after the 26-year-old Dominican completed a medical.

“This is a seminal moment in franchise history,” Mets owners Steve and Alex Cohen said in a statement.

“Juan Soto is a generational talent. He is not only bringing staggering historical statistics with him but also a championship pedigree.”

Soto was set to be MLB’s most sought-after free agent this off-season having just had the best season of his career with the New York Yankees, with only three players hitting more home runs.

Soto’s contract includes a $75m (£58.7m) signing bonus and it eclipses the $700m (£558m) 10-year contract that Shohei Ohtani signed with the Los Angeles Dodgers last year, with the Japanese star agreeing to defer $680m (£541m) of the amount.

Deferred-money deals are when players agree to be paid some of their cash after the time the contract covers, and are used frequently in American sports.

Soto’s new deal is understood to be the largest in professional sports in total value.

Some of the other biggest include Dallas Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott becoming the highest-paid player in NFL history in September by agreeing a four-year contract extension worth $240m (£183m).

In 2020, Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes signed a 10-year contract extension worth $450m (£352m), which has the highest overall value in the NFL. Prescott has the highest annual salary though.

In the NBA, the Boston Celtics have tied Jayson Tatum down to a new five-year deal worth a reported $314m (£245m).

And in football, Portuguese forward Cristiano Ronaldo has a contract with Al-Nassr until 2025 that is reportedly worth more than 200m euros (£176.5m) per year, while Lionel Messi’s deal at Inter Miami is reportedly worth up to $60m (£47m) a year.

Soto was a free agent after spending last season with the New York Yankees.

He helped them reach the 2024 World Series, which they lost 4-1 to the LA Dodgers.

The Yankees, according to the MLB, made a $760m (£595m) offer over 16 years to re-sign Soto but were outbid by the Mets.

Soto had a 0.288 batting average in 157 regular-season games last season, having hit a career-high 41 home runs and 109 runs batted in (RBI) – awarded every time you enable someone, including yourself, to score.

In the World Series he had a 0.313 batting average, with one home run and one RBI.

Soto played for the Washington Nationals and San Diego Padres before joining the Yankees.

He helped the Nationals cause an upset in his first full season when they beat the Houston Astros to win the 2019 World Series.

Soto has played 936 regular-season games in all, scoring 201 home runs, registering 592 RBIs and having a 0.285 batting average.