Mets Owner Steve Cohen Helped Secure Juan Soto For $765 Million By Hosting Him At Two Of His Estates – And Giving Him His Own Suite

After months of anticipation, on Sunday night former Yankees outfielder Juan Soto signed a 15-year, $765 million contract with the New York Mets.

The deal also provides a player opt-out option in year four, which the team would be able to void by adding $4 million every season. The total potential value of the contract comes to a whopping $805 million.

Soto, who finished third in American League MVP voting in the 2024 season, attracted massive interest when he hit free agency Oct. 31. Teams including the Mets, Yankees, Boston Red Sox, Los Angeles Dodgers and Tampa Bay Rays made bids, leading to an agonizing, month-and-a-half long process fraught with rumors and uncertainty – not least for the Yankees, who Soto had guided to the World Series just a couple months prior.

“I’m gonna be available for all 30 teams,” said Soto at the time.

It’s not an exaggeration to say that each of those teams would be lucky to have him. Soto hit .288 / .419 / .988 this past season, with 41 home runs and 109 runners batted in. Even with his questionable outfield defense, he has accumulated over 36 wins above replacement over the course of his career, and is a five-time Silver Slugger and four-time All Star. It was his hitting that made him a sought-after target last year as the Padres looked to trade him, and this year was no different.

Soto signed a one-year, $31 million deal with the Yankees before the 2024 season. That same offseason would see Shohei Ohtani sign his record-breaking 10-year, $700 million deal – although over 90% of the money is deferred until 2033.

This offseason, the Yankees aimed to keep Soto, who had meshed easily with other franchise cornerstones Aaron Judge and Gerrit Cole. “I know what’s expected of me,” Yankees owner Hal Steinbrenner told reporters.

The team’s final offer for Soto was 16 years, $760 million. It wasn’t cash alone, though, that spurred his decision.

When Mets owner Steve Cohen, worth an estimated $21.3 billion, bought the team in 2020, he promised to boost its payroll. In courting Soto, he hosted the outfielder at two of his personal residences and attempted to create a personal relationship, deviating from the traditional Powerpoint.

On top of that, though, the Mets were aware of certain gripes that Soto had with the Yankees organization.

According to the New York Post‘s Jon Heyman, Soto was allegedly “upset early in the year by an overzealous Yankees security guy who disallowed a family member and his chef/driver from certain areas” – in response, the Mets presented themselves as familiar and accommodating. The Yankees also reportedly refused Soto his own suite (even Aaron Judge and Derek Jeter pay) – meanwhile, Soto’s new contract includes a suite at Citi Field for family.

Soto’s agent, Scott Boras, emphasized Soto’s attention to the commitment of ownership, saying, “[Soto] want[s] to know that besides [him], there’s going to be a great number of support on the part of the owner that he has the same desire to win that [he does]. [He’s] going to commit [his] career to it, and [he] want[s] the owner to commit his resources to it.”

Cohen has shown that he’s willing to go all-in, boosting his team to a top-five payroll in the MLB last season. Those 2024 Mets made a surprise run to the NLCS, beating the Milwaukee Brewers and Philadelphia Phillies along the way.

With Soto locked down, they’ll be looking to go further.