It's not just about the money: Mets held big advantage over Yankees in Juan Soto sweepstakes

After one impressive season with the New York Yankees, superstar outfielder Juan Soto hit the free agent market as the top sought after player this offseason. On Sunday night, the Soto sweepstakes came to an end as the New York Mets inked him to a massive contract.

Soto's 15-year, $765 million deal is the richest contract of any sport in history. Just when we thought Shohei Ohtani's deal with the Los Angeles Dodgers was absurd (10 years and $700 million), a year later Soto went and topped it. While it is easy to say that Soto was after every cent he could make, one baseball insider suggests that there could have been more to the decision to make the move from the Bronx to Queens.

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Juan Soto considered the future of franchise

The 2024 MLB season ended with the New York Yankees falling to the Los Angeles Dodgers in the World Series. Juan Soto was a big reason that the Yankees were in a position to contend for a World Series title so it must be that the Mets offered way more than the Yankees for Soto to leave the Bronx, right? Wrong.

In fact, the Yankees offered Juan Soto a very similar contract to the one he signed with the Mets. The Yankees offer was only a $5 million difference. So why would Soto not stay in pinstripes where he almost won another World Series?

According to MLB Insider Jeff Passan on SportsCenter, Juan Soto actually believes the Mets are in a better position to compete in the future than the Yankees are.

While the Mets put together a magaical run this past October by unexpectedly reaching the NLCS, it is hard to believe that they have a brighter future than the Yankees, especially considering how challeneging the NL East can be with the Braves and Phillies.

We do not know what was said behind closed doors to convince Soto that the Mets were the right fit but perhaps future plans were revealed to Soto about where the organization was heading and believes that competitive baseball will be played in Queens for years to come.