As Juan Soto enters free agency, the contract rumors are going to swirl.

World Series - New York Yankees v Los Angeles Dodgers - Game 2
World Series – New York Yankees v Los Angeles Dodgers – Game 2 / Harry How/GettyImages

The 2024 MLB season is officially over and the full attention of the league can turn toward the offseason and free agency. Heading into free agency, there’s one name that stands out above the rest: New York Yankees’ superstar outfielder Juan Soto.

MLB experts have projected that Juan Soto will sign the richest contract behind Shohei Ohtani’s $700 million deal, with the price tag slowly climbing as he gets better and better. Most experts project him in the range of 10-15 years with a total value anywhere between $500 million and $600 million, depending on the contract length.

Latest Juan Soto contract rumors suggest he could end up with Shohei Ohtani-level deal

There may be more. MLB insider Karl Ravech has pitched the idea of Soto exceeding the $500 million, $550 million and even $600 million marks that most experts have set on him this year.

Let’s look a little deeper into these claims. If Soto lands the $700 million deal that Ravech is guessing, it would need to be the longest contract in baseball history. Or it would include deferred money, just like Ohtani’s deal. $700 million across 15 years would net Soto about $47 million a year. Not totally out of the picture.

It’s a known fact that the Juan Soto sweepstakes is going to be an all out bidding war. The most important factor will be the dollar signs, and it’s not totally out of the picture to put him in this range. To be fair, Soto has already declined north of $400 million in hopes of landing in free agency. The outfielder has only gotten better since he was offered those massive deals.

It feels ridiculous to say that Soto could earn a contract north of the $650 million mark. But it’s not completely impossible. A team like the Padres or Dodgers could end up in the sweepstakes if they’re willing to offer him $30 million a year with deferred money coming to him after the contract is up. There are a ton of things that these teams can do to get creative and win Soto over.

Whatever teams are able to do with their money, they’re going to try it with Soto. The most likely outcome is that Soto signs for around $600 million with one of the New York teams, but don’t count out the possibility of the bidding war getting so intense and creative that it ends in the Ohtani range.