The biggest story of the offseason has come to a conclusion as the Mets reached agreement on a 15-year, $765 million contract with the free-agent superstar Juan Sotoaccording to a report by Jon Heyman of the New York Post. According to ESPN’s Jeff Passan, the deal contains no deferred funds and includes escalators that could increase the contract to over $800 million. Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic reports that the deal includes a $75 million signing bonus, while Joel Sherman of the New York Post reports that Soto’s deal includes an opt-out after the 2029 season.

It’s the largest contract in professional sports history, not only wiping out the deal’s net present value of $461 million Shohei Ohtani landed with the Dodgers last winter, but even the $700 million sticker price Ohtani signed didn’t take into account that contract’s record-breaking deferrals. Soto’s average annual value of $51 million also significantly exceeds the record for MLB players previously held by Ohtani. The Mets weren’t the only team willing to go to record-breaking lengths to sign Soto, either, as Heyman reports that the Yankees’ final bid for the slugger was $760 million over 16 years . Meanwhile, Sean McAdam of MassLive reports that the Red Sox have offered Soto $700 million over 15 years.

More to come…