Juan Soto, the current baseball sensation is reportedly set to sign the biggest contract in the history of sport. According to reports, the Dominican had agreed to a $765m (£600m) deal over 15 years with Major League Baseball’s New York Mets.
The Mets are yet to confirm the deal because the 26-year-old Soto needs to complete a medical.
Soto would get a $75m signing bonus, with no deferred money, in a deal that could eventually be worth up to $800m (£627m).
Deferred-money deals are when players agree to be paid some of their cash after the time the contract covers.
He broke the previous record deal of $700 million set a year ago to the day by National League MVP Ohtani Shohei, who agreed to defer $680m (£541m) of the amount.
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Juan Soto spent the 2024 season with the New York Yankees, where they reached the World Series before being defeated by Ohtani and the Los Angeles Dodgers.
In his only season with the Yankees, the 26-year-old batted .288/.419/.569 and recorded his best career numbers in home runs (41) and runs (128, only bettered by Ohtani).
His incredible season in 2024 was supposed to make him the most sought-after player this off-season.
The four-time All-Star is the eighth player in history to move past 200 home runs before the age of 26, and the only one to have recorded 900 hits and 700 bases.
The Mets will be Soto’s fourth MLB team since he made his major-league debut in 2018 with the Washington Nationals, with whom he won the World Series with in 2019.
He made an exit from the capital team after five seasons to join the San Diego Padres in 2022, guiding them to the National League Championship Series in his debut season before signing for the Yankees in December 2023.
The 2025 Major League Baseball (MLB) season will start on 18 March 2025, with the regular season starting on 27 March 2025.
Some of the other biggest contracts in the sports world include Dallas Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott who became the highest-paid player in National Football League (NFL) history in September by agreeing a four-year contract extension worth $240m (£183m).
In the National Basketball Association (NBA), the Boston Celtics have made a deal with Jayson Tatum down to a new five-year deal worth a reported $314m (£245m).
Also Read: MLB MVP 2024: Shohei Ohtani Wins National League Award; Second Player To Bag Both Honours
