Major League Baseball super agent Scott Boras just negotiated the biggest contract of his life.
On Thursday, the New York Mets signed four-time All-Star Juan Soto to a record-breaking 15-year contract worth $765 million. This is the largest deal in the history of professional sports.
Soto becomes the first MLB player to earn more than $50 million in a season.
“Half the league wanted to participate,” Boras said on CNBC’s “Power Lunch.” “So many teams wanted this rarity because ultimately it was good business to acquire it.”
Boras talked about the difficult decisions Soto and his team made to find the best fit. One factor in his decision was recent performance at Citi Field, where the Mets play.
“Juan Soto’s performance level at Citi Field is well known to him,” Coach Boras said. “He’s playing at the highest level and the players are thinking about their execution. They’re thinking about all these factors.”
Soto appeared in 35 games at Citi Field, hitting 12 home runs and 26 RBIs with an on-base percentage of .466 and a .709 slugging percentage.
The longest home run of his career, 466 feet, was recorded on August 12, 2020 at Citi Field.
Boras also said that money is not everything for the 26-year-old player.
“When you’re an athlete, you think about everything, but mainly your routine and your performance,” Boras said. “There’s a lot more to it than economics.”
At his inaugural press conference, Soto said the Mets treated him like family.
“They showed me a lot of love in terms of what they have and trying to make it comfortable. That’s one of the things that impressed me even more. , how they treat everyone around me, my family,” Soto said.