In an all-in move that flips the script on New York's baseball rivalry, Mets owner Steve Cohen has pulled out the stops and nabbed Juan Soto, formerly with the Yankees, on a monumental 15-year, $765 million contract. This is spruced-up news coming from Crain's New York Business and a bold stance in MLB's no-cap economy, forcing the Yankees' hand which came up just a hair short with a $760 million offer over 16 years.
While Cohen, a hedge fund titan who forked over $2.4 billion for the Mets in 2020, isn't shy about his spending sprees on players, this latest acquisition launches the team's payroll into the stratosphere. Despite the eye-watering figures, Cohen's moves come after a reset that saw the Mets ditching more costly, less spry players in favor of fresher talent, leading to a dip in 2025's projected payroll, and yet Cohen's spending on the Mets has now soared to an astronomical $1.6 billion since his takeover, which included a 2023 season that saw an Opening Day payroll north of $330 million plus luxury-tax penalties. These were an MLB first for the most spent relative to the total league payroll by a team with a losing record, according to details revealed by Crain's New York Business.
The outsize contract has made a splash as Soto's deal eclipses even Shohei Ohtani’s $700 million pact with the Dodgers, poised to possibly enlarge to $805 million. And while Cohen's methods may raise an eyebrow or two, the billionaire has been clear about his intentions, telling Sports Illustrated, "I don’t care about the cost side," and when questioned about the philanthropic angle of his big spends, he affirmed, "I do. That’s why I bought the team. That’s exactly why I bought the team. I said in my original press conference, ‘If I can make millions of people happy, how cool is that?’ And so I actually view it as a civic responsibility."
Despite the Mets' playoff elimination at the hands of the Dodgers this past season, fans are keyed up over Soto's signing, which spells big dreams for the ball club's future, and if we're interpreting Cohen's modus operandi correctly, this is a man who wants a championship and he intends to use his deep coffers address that hunger, with just one year left in the timeline he set to win a World Series title. Indeed, Cohen has spent heavily on players in his bid for glory, and that includes the hiring of executive David Stearns, but the pressure is on to deliver on that $1.6 billion investment, as reported by Crain's New York Business.
