Juan Soto very well could agree to the richest contract in MLB history later this week.
He reportedly has offers on the table of at least $600 million over double-digit years from the Boston Red Sox, New York Mets, New York Yankees, Toronto Blue Jays and Los Angeles Dodgers. MassLive’s Sean McAdam reported Thursday than an industry source told him Soto’s deal could go over $700 million and possibly be close to $800 million.
But there is a wrinkle that could come with a contract of that gargantuan size for Soto, according to McAdam.
“Some — but not all — of the offers submitted to date for Soto have included deferred money,” McAdam wrote.
Deferred money was an integral part to the eye-popping 10-year, $700 million deal Shohei Ohtani signed with the Los Angeles Dodgers last offseason. Ohtani made the massive decision to defer a vast majority of his contract to give Dodgers flexibility and not tie them down financially in the present.
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Ohtani’s contract is actually valued in the $460 million range with the Dodgers paying the two-way phenom just $2 million per season over the length of his contract before shelling out $68 million annually over the next decade.
It was reported that Soto wouldn’t go to those great of lengths in deferred money, but the fact he is willing to have that stipulation in his contract could help the team that signs him in adding more pieces around the 26-year-old outfielder.
ESPN’s Jeff Passan reported Wednesday that the sweepstakes for Soto are winding down and he could come to a decision by the start of the MLB Winter Meetings on Sunday.
