Major League Baseball super agent Scott Boras discusses the biggest contract of his life.
On Thursday, the New York Mets signed four-time All-Star Juan Soto to a record-breaking $765 million, 15-year contract. It is the largest contract in professional sports history.
Soto will become the first player in MLB to earn more than $50 million in a season.
“Half the league wanted to be a part of it,” Boras told CNBC’s “Power Lunch.” “So many teams were looking for this rare value because ultimately, it was just good business to get it.”
Boras talked about the difficult decision to find the best fit for Soto and his team. One factor in his decision was his recent performance at Citi Field, where the Mets play.
“Juan Soto’s performance levels at Citi Field are well known to him,” Boras said. “He plays at the highest level of his performance and the players think about the execution. You think about all those factors.”
In Soto’s 35 games at Citi Field, the left-handed hitter had 12 home runs, 26 RBIs and on-base percentages of .466 and .709 slugging.
His career longest home run, 466 feet, came on August 12, 2020 at Citi Field.
Boras also shared that it’s not all about the money for the 26-year-old.
“When you’re an athlete, you think about all the things, but you also primarily think about your routine, your performance,” Boras said. “There’s more to it than economics.”
Speaking at his introductory news conference, Soto said the Mets treated him like family.
“They showed me a lot of love for what they have and how they would try to make it comfortable. That’s one thing that impressed me more and how they treated everyone around me and my family,” Soto said.
