Baseball star Juan Soto has agreed to a record-breaking £600m deal with the New York Mets, marking the largest contract in sports history.
The 26-year-old Dominican outfielder's 15-year agreement surpasses Shohei Ohtani's £548m contract with the Los Angeles Dodgers, signed just last December.
Soto will join the Mets after spending one season with cross-town rivals the New York Yankees, where he achieved a career-high 41 home runs.
The deal, first reported by ESPN, represents a significant coup for the Mets, who outbid the Yankees' offer of £595m over 16 years.
Juan Soto is set to sign the biggest contract in sport's history
|Despite his young age, Soto has already established himself as one of baseball's elite hitters, having won the World Series with the Washington Nationals in 2019.
The landmark deal includes a £58.7m signing bonus with no deferred payments, unlike Ohtani's contract with the Dodgers.
The agreement offers Soto an opt-out option after five years, with the total value potentially reaching £630m if he continues beyond that period.
During his first five years, Soto will earn £40m annually, increasing to £43m per year for the remaining decade if he stays with the club.
The absence of deferred money makes this contract particularly notable, as it contrasts with Ohtani's arrangement where £53m of his £55m annual salary is deferred, with Los Angeles paying him through to 2043.
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The deal remains subject to Soto passing routine medical tests, as reported by MLB.com.
Based on Major League Baseball's 162-game regular season, Soto's £630m earnings over the full 15-year period would amount to £259,000 per game.
With baseball games averaging around 2 hours and 36 minutes in recent seasons, this equates to approximately £1,643 per minute of play.
These calculations underscore the unprecedented scale of Soto's contract in professional sports.
The figures are based on the assumption that Soto completes the full 15-year term rather than exercising his opt-out clause after five years.
The per-game earnings reflect only regular season matches, not accounting for potential playoff appearances or pre-season games.
In the wider context of global sports contracts, Soto's deal stands at the pinnacle of a prestigious list.
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Lionel Messi's final Barcelona contract (2017-2021) reached £527m, while Cristiano Ronaldo's current Al-Nassr deal is worth £420m over three years.
Golf's highest entry comes from Jon Rahm's £411.1m LIV contract, running until 2029.
NFL quarterback Patrick Mahomes features with a £393.9m decade-long agreement with the Kansas Chiefs.
Baseball dominates the top earnings, with Mike Trout's £334m Angels contract and Mookie Betts' £285.8m Dodgers deal among the most lucrative.
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The only boxer in the top tier is Canelo Alvarez, whose five-year DAZN contract was worth £281.9m.
These figures highlight baseball's financial dominance in global sports, with Soto and Ohtani's contracts setting unprecedented benchmarks.