Juan Soto's $765 million contract deal shows Mets owner's dedication to reinvention
Earlier this year, Steve Cohen laid out his principles as the owner of the New York Mets, saying it was a “philanthropic” endeavor, in an interview with CNBC’s Andrew Ross Sorkin.
Earlier this year, Steve Cohen laid out his principles as the owner of the New York Mets, saying it was a “philanthropic” endeavor, in an interview with CNBC’s Andrew Ross Sorkin.
“I don’t care about the cost side,” Cohen said, adding: “If I can make millions of people happy, how cool is that? I actually do it as a civic responsibility.”
That attitude helps explain how outfielder Juan Soto ended up agreeing to the richest-ever contract in baseball on Sunday, and among the most lucrative signed by any professional athlete in the world.
The deal for Soto, who's 26 and from the Dominican Republic, comes to $765 million over 15 years and includes a $75 million signing bonus and has the potential to increase to more than $800 million, according to MLB.com.
What’s especially notable about the contract is that none of the money is “deferred” — meaning it must be paid each year that Soto is on the Mets’ active roster. Besides the dollar amount, the lack of deferrals is what makes Soto’s contract even more eye-popping than the $700 million deal signed just last year by Los Angeles Dodgers star Shohei Ohtani: $680 million of Ohtani’s deal will not be paid until after 2034.
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