Will Juan Soto Pay for Himself?

At 9 a.m. Queens time Monday morning, the New York Mets sent out an email blast to their media listserv:

“2025 METS SINGLE GAME TICKETS ON SALE TODAY”

In the words of “Saturday Night Live’s” Church Lady, “How convenient!”

Less than 12 hours earlier, baseball insider Jon Heyman broke the news that the sport’s top free agent Juan Soto - his sweepstakes so compelling that SNL’s Marcello Hernandez portrayed him last weekend in a Church Lady revival sketch - had agreed to join the Mets for a record-shattering $765 million over 15 years. Can’t start the return-on-investment clock soon enough, right?

No matter how swift their reaction time, though, the Mets will struggle to attain a complete and total ROI on their new rightfielder. While these sorts of measures are notably imprecise, Soto likely won’t “pay for himself” in the literal sense.

In the more global sense? That’s a different story. One that could quite feasibly feature a happy ending for the Mets and all of their stakeholders.

As detailed in our blog yesterday, the 26-year-old Soto, a native of the Dominican Republic, can’t match the global reach of Japanese-born Shohei Ohtani, the two-way superstar to whom the Dodgers committed $700 million (most of it deferred) a year ago. Both Ohtani and the Dodgers quickly cashed in on their marriage. Ohtani easily, literally paid for himself with Dodgers sponsorship deals.

Corporations would do well to align themselves with the dynamic and ultra-talented Soto, who has never sniffed controversy or trouble, and with the Mets now that they have him. With Soto aboard, the Mets surely will get more reps on national telecasts in the regular season, and they’re more likely to be regulars in the postseason, although Ohtani and the Dodgers will have something to say about them perennially representing the National League in the World Series. And as Mark W. Sanchez detailed in this New York Post article, deep playoff runs produce the lushest financial fruit.

Yet there’s a bigger story going on here, one that transcends the budget sheet. When hedge-fund magnate Steve Cohen purchased the Mets in 2020, instantly becoming Major League Baseball’s wealthiest owner, he made it his mission to elevate the Mets’ brand. That’s no easy task in a baseball city where the Yankees enjoy a 59-year head start in existence and a 27-2 advantage in championships.

Soto’s free agency marked the second time that the New York cohabitants competed for a huge prize, but the first one ended in a draw, as Japanese pitcher Yoshinobu Yamamoto opted to join Ohtani with the Dodgers. When Soto went with Cohen and the Mets over the Yankees’ competitive offer ($760 million over 16 years), it marked the Mets’ first Hot Stove victory over their neighbors, a seismic accomplishment.

To the victors go the spoils. Attendance undoubtedly will increase with Soto in the Mets’ lineup. As will sponsorships, and partnerships, TV ratings and every other conceivable metric. If Soto holds form and continues to be the most consistently productive hitter in the game for most of his contract, if Cohen and the Mets’ front office leverage this acquisition into more, then their brand elevation will snowball healthily.

The Mets can get their return on investment for Soto, as can their ticket-holders and sponsors for investing in the Mets. They’ll just need to exhibit the sort of patience that Soto displays when he’s in the batter’s box.