Despite a $765M Mega Contract, Dak Prescott, Justin Herbert, and 6 Other QBs Outmatch MLB Star Juan Soto’s Annual Salary

Late Sunday night, ESPN’s Jeff Passan reported MLB superstar Juan Soto was joining the New York Mets in free agency. Soto, 26, shifted boroughs – from the Bronx to Queens – for a mammoth 15-year, $765 million contract. The deal, which pulled him away from the Yankees, has escalators that could push its value above $800 million in total.

Soto’s pact is the largest in sports history by total value, outdoing Shohei Ohtani’s $700 million contract from just one offseason ago. However, Soto’s annual value ($51 million per year) would tie Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts for ninth-best among NFL quarterbacks.

Yes, eight quarterbacks make more annually than Soto. And neither Patrick Mahomes nor Josh Allen is among them:

• Dak Prescott (Cowboys): $60 million AAV
• Joe Burrow (Bengals): $55 million AAV
• Jordan Love (Packers): $55 million AAV
• Trevor Lawrence (Jaguars): $55 million AAV
• Tua Tagovailoa (Dolphins): $53.1 million AAV
• Jared Goff (Lions): $53 million AAV
• Justin Herbert (Chargers): $52.5 million AAV
• Lamar Jackson (Ravens): $52 million AAV

Mahomes may not be on the above list, but he was the recipient of the biggest-ever NFL deal (10-year, $450 million) by total value in 2020. The three-time Super Bowl champion was actually younger than Soto is now (25) when he signed.

But the drastic difference in season length, injury possibility, and career longevity between the NFL and MLB earned Soto a fatter check than any QB will likely see anytime soon.