Well, at least the wait is over. In the latest bit of intra-NL East star player migration, yet another former National has signed a megadeal with a hated rival.
Throughout the Boras-led bidding process, I had expected the Yankees to retain Juan Soto, but it seems that Steve Cohen decided he would simply not be outbid, and the Mets flexed their financial muscles to lock Soto down with a fifteen year deal valued at $765 million.
Juan Soto's stunning 15-year, $765 million contract does not include a penny of deferrals, and has an opt-out after 5 seasons just in case it's somehow undervalued after the 2029 season.
— Bob Nightengale (@BNightengale) December 9, 2024
That nearly inconceivable number comes about through a $75M signing bonus and a $46M annual salary from 2025 to 2039:
Net Present Value
When Shohei Ohtani signed his $700 million megadeal last offseason, I wrote a blog post about how the sizable deferrals in the deal actually made it very palatable for the Dodgers, and more like Mike Trout’s $426.5 million deal in terms of financial value at time of signing.
I’ve run the same math again for Soto’s contract, and the conclusions are stark: not only does Soto’s contract have the highest paper value of any baseball contract, it has the most current financial value by virtue of the large signing bonus, large yearly salaries, and lack of deferred money.
I’m always going to have complicated feelings about the situation: the push to maximize Soto’s value on the open market, no matter what, has felt more like a Boras priority than a Soto priority - though I don’t want to minimize Juan’s own agency in charting this path, nor the fact that he has secured multi-generational wealth for his family.
I will always harbor deep disappointment in the Lerner family and the Nationals franchise for their failure to extend Soto earlier in his career - their unwillingness to pay the real price at the time kicked off the chain of events which has left us here: with a franchise legend, and World Series winner, signing with our division rivals, again.