Baseball: Record Sports Contract!
By Prof Dr Ian Blackshaw
The world record sports contract is about to be signed by the 26-year-old baseball player, Juan Soto, when he joins the New York Mets on a 15 year contract worth an eye-watering US$765 million.
His contract contains a US$75 million signing on bonus, an opt-out after five seasons and no deferred money.
It is also reported that the Mets will have the opportunity to void Soto’s opt-out clause after the 2029 season if they boost the average annual value of the final ten years of his deal from US$51 million to US$55 million. In that case, Soto’s total deal will be worth US$805 million!
How does Soto’s deal compare with some of the other highly paid sports stars?
For example:
- Cristiano Ronaldo, the footballer, has a deal of US$536 million over 2 and a half years;
- Canelo Alvarez, the boxer, has a deal of US$365 million over 5 years; and
- Max Verstappen, the four-time F1 World Champion, has a deal of US$330 million over 6 years.
In a world in which 3.5 billion people earn US$6.85 per day, these sports stars’ earnings are, to say the least, obscene!
Prof Dr Ian Blackshaw may be contacted by e-mail at ‘
