Sources: Mets land Soto on 15-year, $765M deal

Superstar outfielder Juan Soto and the New York Mets are in agreement on a 15-year, $765 million contract, sources told ESPN’s Jeff Passan, the largest deal in professional sports history.

The deal includes no deferred money, sources said, and has escalators that can reach above $800 million.

Soto rejected a one-year, $21.05 million qualifying offer by the New York Yankees on Nov. 19.

The two most sought-after free agents this century have been Alex Rodríguez, a 25-year-old elite shortstop in 2000, and Shohei Ohtani, a boundary-breaking two-way machine last winter. Soto, despite being a below-average corner outfielder, is third on the list: Organizations decided his hitting prowess at his age is that valuable.

The 2024 season was one of Soto’s best. He slashed .288/.419/.569 for the Yankees, smacking a career-high 41 home runs and scoring a career-high 128 runs. He finished second in the majors in on-base percentage to teammate Aaron Judge, fourth in slugging, third in OPS, third in wRC+, and fourth in fWAR.

Soto turned 26 on Oct. 25, the day of Game 1 of the World Series. He’s already a four-time All-Star, a four-time Silver Slugger, a batting champion, a Home Run Derby champion, and a World Series champion. His .421 career on-base percentage is tops in baseball since he debuted with the Washington Nationals in 2018. His .532 slugging percentage is seventh. His .953 OPS and his 158 wRC+ are fourth. His 201 home runs are ninth.

His 769 career walks are the most ever for a player through his age-25 season — 99 more than Mickey Mantle, who is second on the list. He has been a metronome since breaking into the majors as a teenager, stitching together elite season after elite season.

Soto concluded the 2024 season by going 5-for-16 in the World Series with a home run and seven walks in the five-game loss to the Los Angeles Dodgers. He was, from start to finish, worth the investment the Yankees made last December when they sent five players to the San Diego Padres for him and fellow outfielder Trent Grisham before paying him $31 million.

ESPN’s Jorge Castllo contributed to this report.