The Untold Story of the ‘Most Powerful Agent in the World’ Who Could Have Had Both Ohtani and Soto

Million-dollar swings and billion-dollar appraisals unfold in a silent game under the crowd’s roar and bat crack. This chess encounter involves whispered calls, late-night strategy sessions, and unwavering player confidence. Have you heard of the Juan Soto deal? Of course, you have! The man behind it? Scott Boras. The maestro of huge contracts and the builder of generational prosperity, his name can be heard in every big room. But even the best can miss out on some potential players like Shohei Ohtani.

Consider a world where one agent could have changed baseball history. What if one person led two generational talents who could electrify stadiums and break records? Ohtani and Soto. In their own right, both players have enthralled spectators and changed the game. Boras successfully negotiated a landmark contract, but his efforts to represent the other player were unsuccessful. These opposing results open a window into the subtleties and complexity of well-publicized sports deals.

Renowned for landing record-breaking client contracts, Scott Boras deliberately attempted to represent the Japanese prodigy, Ohtani, before he made his Major League Baseball debut in 2018. Five times, Boras visited Japan, and five times, he met with Ohtani’s parents, in an effort to land him. However, despite Boras’ big efforts, Ohtani ultimately chose Nez Balelo of CAA Sports as his agent.

Even though Boras couldn’t land the baseball prodigy, he had La Fiera at his corner. During the negotiations of Soto’s historic contract with the New York Mets, Boras encountered analogies to Ohtani’s record-breaking contract with the Los Angeles Dodgers. Team owners argued that Ohtani’s dual role as a top pitcher and slugger justified using his hypothetical $700 million valuation as a benchmark to suggest Soto’s contract should be worth less. But they didn’t know who they were dealing with!

Standing well to his reputation of a fierce advocate for players, Boras pointed out just how valuable Soto is—his age and steady hitting included—and said comparing him to Ohtani doesn’t take away from how great Soto really is. And well, we don’t need to tell you if he succeeded in persuading them! Soto stands with the highest-paid contract in baseball’s history, worth $765 million for 15 years with the Mets. What’s more interesting is that Soto’s contract even exceeds Ohtani’s giant contract.

This result demonstrated Boras’s negotiating skills and underlined the unique worth every player adds to the game. Although Boras may not represent every top player, his influence continues to shape the careers of the best baseball elite stars and redefine player contracts.

The Negotiator: Scott Boras’s pursuit of baseball’s biggest stars

Soto’s contract was certainly a historic one, but it wasn’t the first massive deal Boras negotiated. In his illustrious career, he has negotiated many significant deals. What makes him exceptional is his use of data analytics and market trends in his negotiations; he is a magician wielding a wand to create historic contracts. Unlike agents pushing for short contracts, Boras allows market dynamics to maximize client value. This strategy has proven time and again to help players, thereby improving MLB contract negotiating guidelines.

In 2019, Boras negotiated a 13-year, $330 million contract for breakthrough athlete Bryce Harper with the Philadelphia Phillies. This contract was the wealthiest in MLB history without opt-outs and with a complete no-trade clause. Boras produced a competitive market, which drove the Phillies’ record offer.

In the same year, he landed another Yankees pitcher, Gerrit Cole, for whom he negotiated a nine-year, $324 million contract. Regarding average annual value and pay, this was the wealthiest pitcher contract. The Yankees’ unprecedented offer resulted from Boras’s negotiations stressing Cole’s outstanding performance and market demand. ​​​​​​

And that’s just a few of Boras’s brilliancy. He also worked out a 10-year, $325 million Texas Rangers contract for 2021. Boras locked substantial contracts for his players in a cutthroat free-agent market with this agreement. ​​In 2019, he set up a seven-year, $245 million contract for Washington Nationals ace Stephen Strasburg. And that was the wealthiest pitcher contract ever, proving Boras’s capacity to maximize client revenues.

But above all ranks Boras’s discussions with Alex Rodriguez. In 2000, he signed Rodriguez to a 10-year, $252 million contract with the Rangers, the largest in MLB history. In 2007, he broke another record with a 10-year, $275 million contract with the Yankees.

Negotiations by Boras have affected MLB’s financial situation. By signing record contracts, he has pushed teams to reassess their payrolls and upped player salary norms. His approach has benefited his clients and modified the market, influencing league contract negotiations.