When is Juan Soto’s first opt-out clause in his NY Mets contract?

No, Juan Soto hasn’t opted out of his New York Mets contract despite what one person you’re not even sure is a real human being told you. His massive $765 million deal remains intact and he’ll be wearing blue and orange in 2026. He’ll do it again in 2027. And so on.

Signed to what felt like “in perpetuity deal,” it’s not forever. In fact, it might not even last the whole duration.

Juan Soto won’t have an opportunity to opt out of his Mets contract for a few more years

The Mets are guaranteed to have Soto through the 2029 season. It’s after the 2029 World Series, after the Mets have won four straight, when he can choose to become a free agent again. It's his one and only shot at ending the marriage.

It’s not this simple, though. His salary of $51 million from 2030-2039 has potential to grow. If the Mets want to negate the opt-out, they can increase his annual pay to $55 million. If Soto doesn’t opt-out after the 2029 season, he’ll receive $51 million.

Another sign Soto is in his prime years, the 2030 season is his age 31 campaign. Depending on the way he performs and the structure of other MLB contracts, he may actually have a reason to pursue a new contract. There’s also a matter of whether or not he likes playing for the Mets.

Year one with Soto was great for him and not so much for the team in the standings. He finished third in the MVP vote with the team falling shy of a playoff berth by virtue of losing a tie-breaker to the Cincinnati Reds. Just about everything about the Mets in 2025 is confusing with the first weeks of MLB free agency not adding much more clarity.

How much money would Juan Soto walk away from if he opts out?

Soto walks away from $510 million from the Mets if he ends up opting out after the 2029 season. The question he’ll need Scott Boras to accurately answer before that choice is whether someone will give him more cash. It would be a bold move for anyone else to pay him such an extreme amount. We should think of Soto’s massive contract as pseudo deferral. There isn’t a chance he’s worth $51-55 million as a 40-year-old in 2039.

By the time he does get a chance to opt-out, there could be bigger questions he has about life. He already won one championship with the Washington Nationals. But if the Mets aren’t offering him the same opportunity to compete regularly, could he grow tired of staying in Queens?

Free agency could always have a different kind of offering by then, too. A trend of players signing for shorter, more expensive deals could become all the rage.

It’ll be difficult for Soto to walk away from a half-billion dollars. Even the Los Angeles Dodgers will need to draw a line in the sand somewhere.