Biggest contracts in North American team sports: Juan Soto tops select list of $300M players

It took just one year for Juan Soto to set a new record for the largest contract in sports history. It's anyone's guess how long it will take before his deal with the Mets is surpassed. 

Soto's 15-year, $765 million pact didn't even include any deferred money, making it worth about $300 million more than Shohei Ohtani's $700 million agreement with the Dodgers. 

Over the years, athletes' salaries have skyrocketed amid billion-dollar television deals. In 1979, Nolan Ryan became the first pro athlete to earn $1 million per season upon signing with the Astros. Now, dozens of NFL players make more than $1 million per game, while the highest-paid NBA players are approaching that figure for a day's work.

But the largest overall contract values primarily belong to baseball players. Soto became the 17th player across the four North American professional sports leagues to have a deal worth at least $300 million; 15 of those are in MLB. Interestingly, every player who's signed a $300 million deal is still active.

Here's the complete list.

(Note: these values are based on data from Spotrac.com)

1. Juan Soto : 15 years, $765M, New York Mets

2. Shohei Ohtani : 10 years, $700M, Los Angeles Dodgers

3. Patrick Mahomes : 10 years, $450M, Kansas City Chiefs

4. Mike Trout : 12 years, $426.5M, Los Angeles Angels

5. Mookie Betts : 12 years, $365M, Los Angeles Dodgers

6. Aaron Judge : 9 years, $360M, New York Yankees

7. Manny Machado : 11 years, $350M, San Diego Padres

8. Francisco Lindor : 10 years, $341M, New York Mets

9. Fernando Tatís Jr. : 14 years, $340M, San Diego Padres

10. Bryce Harper : 13 years, $330M, Philadelphia Phillies

T11. Giancarlo Stanton : 13 years, $325M, New York Yankees

T11