The New York Mets signed All-Star outfielder Juan Soto this offseason to the largest contract in American sports history, fueling many calls for an MLB salary cap in the future. Soto’s record-breaking contract also included a lot more than just money.
As part of his deal, Soto received a luxury suite at Citi Field along with four premium tickets to Mets’ home games. New York also included contract bonuses for winning the National League Most Valuable Player award once ($500,000) or multiple times. However, some of the initial details of the contract have proven to be false.
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- Juan Soto contract (Spotrac): $61.875 million salary from 2025-’29
According to Jon Heyman of the New York Post, Soto’s contract does not include personal access to plane flights, nor did the Mets provide his family members with nice clothes. However, New York did guarantee the All-Star outfielder something else that was important to him.
The Post learned that Soto’s deal also included a guarantee that he would receive the No. 22 upon signing with the club. While it was worn by infielder Brett Baty last season, New York included in the contract language that the No. 22 would belong to Soto moving forward.
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That means the $92,000 Chevy Tahoe that Soto bought for Baty was a gift for having to give up the number and not something he had to trade in exchange for getting it. Instead, the 26-year-old voluntarily chose to thank his teammate for the number by gifting Baty his dream car.
- Juan Soto stats (ESPN): .279/.404, .442, .846 OPS, 1 home run, 4 RBI
The Mets haven’t quite received a return on their investment yet, with Soto posting his lowest OPS in the last three seasons in his first 12 games. However, he does have one of the top-selling jerseys in MLB and New York enters MLB games today with the eighth-highest attendance in baseball.
