5 Non-Baseball Things for Juan Soto to Focus on Now That He's Made His Money

Juan Soto signed a 15-year, $765M deal with the New York Mets last night. I know that sounds like an insane amount of money on the surface, but keep in mind, Juan Soto will still be working in New York City. He'll only see roughly $400M of that after taxes.  

One thing I appreciate about Juan Soto, which many people strongly dislike him for, is that he's never once pretended to be about anything other than money when it comes to what team he'll sign with. If you want Juan Soto to play for your organization, you know what you have to do. Just outbid everyone else. He doesn't care about your team's legacy. He doesn't care about who gives him the best chance to win. He doesn't lie to fan's faces about wanting to raise his family and spend the rest of his life in their city. I can respect that when it comes to Juan Soto, you always know exactly stands. On a gigantic pile of cash. 

The best thing about Juan Soto's contract is that the money is fully guaranteed. He's already earned his $765M. Of course he still has to show up and put on a uniform 162 times per year. Take 4 or 5 at bats every game. Maybe even play defense from time to time. And I suppose the Mets occasionally make the playoffs. Sometimes he'll be forced to work into October. But as long as he physically shows up and doesn't do anything to blatantly violate the terms of his contract, the money is all his.

Now that Soto is guaranteed to be paid through the remainder of his baseball career, the man has nothing left to prove. He spent his whole life honing his craft. Busting his ass day-in and day-out to be the best player he could possibly be so that one day a franchise would award him with generational wealth. Now that he's finally earned hundreds of lifetimes worth of money at age 26, he has to do something with it. Maybe he wants to spend it all on frivolous activities. Maybe he wants to invest. Maybe he wants to use his money to build something special. 

But one thing for sure... the last thing Soto wants to do is spend the next 15 years of his life with his head buried in work, not enjoying the fruits of his labor while living in a city where everything is at his disposal. There's a whole world outside of baseball. So many fun and exciting things to get involved in now that he's achieved everything he's ever wanted professionally - an enormous fucking contact.

Idea #1: Rap Career

Some of the world's greatest rappers got their start in New York City. Names like Biggie, 50 Cent, L.L. Cool J, Jay-Z, Diddy. There's no reason he can't end up like any of them. Time and time again we've seen athletes make a splash in the rap game. Shaquille O'Neal's, 'Still Can't Stop the Reign'. Antonio Brown's, 'Pit Not The Palace'. Arian Foster (but you probably know his as Bobby Feeno), with Watermelon Sunrise. All timeless classics that prove it's more than possible to be both a world-class athlete & artist.

With the type of money he'll be making, Soto will have all the best resources available to him. Studio time with top producers. Features from the hottest up and coming young artists. As a superstar athlete, he already has an enormous fan base. Picture Juan Soto stepping into the batter's box at Citi Field with his own original song blasting over the loudspeakers. Chills. That's a captive audience. He'd be starting his rap career with a massive leg up on the competition, as the entire Mets fanbase will be supporting his music every step of the way.

Idea #2: Podcasting

It seems like every player who's currently in the NBA has their own podcast. For whatever reason, that's not as common in the MLB. But that doesn't mean there's not a market for it. Obviously Cubs' ace pitcher, Justin Steele, teamed up with Marty Mush to give us an inside look at what it's like being a star pitcher in the MLB and discuss everything baseball with Steele The Show.

But nobody with a name like Juan Soto has thrown their hat into the podcasting ring. He has the bankroll to make his show the #1 player podcast in the game. And it could be much more than a podcast. It could be the start of his own media empire. He'd hire a full team of people to travel with him city-to-city. Full time producers & editors to assure he's putting out a professional product. Social media managers to make sure Soto is participating in all the most viral trends. Whatever level of access they need to the Mets' clubhouse, practices, dugout, team meetings, etc., Steve Cohen will grant it to them. Regardless of whether the Mets are winning or losing, the fans will above all appreciate the content.

Idea #3: Cryptocurrency

I'd imagine will be tempted to put his $765M into a high-yield savings account at 5% APY and make a safe couple million USD per year with zero risk. But crypto is the currency of the future. Mr. Soto… if you open up Instagram and take a peek in your DM's… I bet you're flooded with opportunities to double, if not triple, if not 100x your money in a shockingly, almost unbelievably short period of time. You'll probably have to sift through the hoards of Yankees fans threatening the lives of your children first. But I promise you, somewhere in your DM's is a man who can take $JUAN coin to the moon. You have to be careful who your trust. But if you come across any accounts with a pixilated face avatar.

Rest assured they know what they're doing. With that guy steering the ship, $JUAN will soon be the official cryptocurrency of the New York Mets. The Mets will have $JUAN ads on their jerseys and helmets. By the end of your 15-year contract, if fans so much as want to purchase a bag of peanuts, they'll need to convert their USD to $JUAN at one of the many $JUAN kiosks located throughout $JUAN Field.

Idea #4: Marijuana Industry

The stigma surrounding marijuana is not nearly what it once was. It's no longer considered a banned substance by the MLB. If Major League Baseball isn't suspending its players 50 games for a substance, you know it's a perfectly fine substance to get heavily involved in. There are so many incredible benefits of marijuana. It opens up your mind. It's a safe pain management alternative to dangerous & addictive opiates. It lowers blood pressure, helps treat anxiety disorders, improves sleep. It's even proven to cure cancer. 

Starting a cannabis company is a sound investment that will do nothing but good for both the community and Soto's image. It could even improve his performance on the field. Soto always looks so agitated in the batter's box. Constantly glaring at the pitcher and mumbling nonsense to himself. Think how great of a hitter he could be if he mellowed out a bit. Being a professional athlete is stressful. Especially in New York City with $765M worth of expectations on your shoulders. One bad plate appearance and Frank The Tank gives you a hurtful nickname that sticks for the rest of your career. That's a lot to deal with.

Opening a chain of recreational Marijuana Soto's across the city is sound financial investment. Especially if Soto is willing to put his money where his mouth is and embrace the lifestyle. Help show the world that daily cannabis users aren't the melted-into-the-couch-disappointment-to-their-dog stoners that those nasty Above The Influence commercials painted them to be.

Idea #5: UFC + Mixed Martial Arts

I'm not suggesting Juan Soto attempts to break into professional fighting in the midst of his baseball career. That would be insane. But there are plenty of other ways he can get involved. UFC is the fastest growing sport in the world. 10 years from now it will have surpassed the NFL as the #1 most watched sport in America. Dana White assures us of this. I'm sure Dana would be more than happy to have Juan Soto ringside at an event. He could introduce him to some fighters. Get him on The Joe Rogan Experience. Joe Rogan can talk to him for 3 hours about how training jiujitsu would actually be extremely beneficial to baseball career. 

Next thing you know, Juan Soto is paying for weekly training sessions and rolling around the mat with professional fighters and Mark Zuckerberg. Nothing too crazy. Just a little something to help with cardio and focus. If he's really into it, then maybe he spends some of his money and opens a gym in the Dominican Republic. Something to serve as an outlet for trouble youths. Maybe he backs a few promising young Dominican fighters. Helps pull some kids out of the hood. 

Juan Soto just seems like an MMA guy. There are plenty of ways he and UFC could be mutually beneficial to each other. And by the time his contract with the Mets is up, if Juan Soto has the itch, maybe he makes a run at a belt.

Just a handful of ideas to consider. As I'm sure Mets fans will agree, the last thing we want for Juan Soto is to look back on his career as a Met and realize he didn't spend any time doing something for himself. That he spend any time bettering himself outside of work. Because baseball will end some day. Cryptocurrency and podcasting are forever.