THE New York Mets reached a historic agreement with free agent outfielder Juan Soto on Sunday night. The 15-year, $765 million deal is the largest in the history of the four major professional sports and trumps even Shohei Ohtani’s $700 million contract from last offseason.

The mega-deal was made possible given the extraordinary circumstances surrounding Soto’s career. It’s very rare for a player just 26 years old — and one as accomplished as Soto — to hit free agency, so the dollar amount was always going to be high.

Soto is a four-time All-Star and batting champion who helped the Washington Nationals win the World Series in 2019. He is also a five-time Silver Slugger winner, home run derby champion and just completed a year over which he finished third in American League MVP voting with 41 home runs and 109 RBIs.

Now that he’s secured history with his checkbook, Soto will look to make history on the field as well, according to Sarah Langs of MLB.com:

Juan Soto hit 41 HR last season for the Yankees

No player had a 40-hour season for the Yankees and Mets

And this one:

Juan Soto made the All-Star Game in 3 consecutive seasons with 3 different teams

No player has done it in 4 consecutive years with 4 different teams…yet

No player even made an ASG for a 4th team (regardless of consec) before turning 31. He is 26 years old.

h/t @EliasSports

The deal contains an opt-out clause after five years, meaning if Soto continues to perform well, he could play in free agency again during his career.

The winter meetings begin Monday and a Soto news conference is likely.

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