Here's your Forbes Daily Briefing for Wednesday, December 11th.

Today on Forbes, how billionaire Mets owner Steve Cohen is redefining MLB's hierarchy with a $765 million

dollar Juan Soto deal.

The bidding war for the most sought-after free agent in baseball history included the usual suspects

who have spent freely on superstars for decades, the New York Yankees, Los Angeles Dodgers,

and Boston Red Sox. But none could top Steve Cohen, the owner of the New York Mets, and the league's

new heavy hitter. The 68-year-old Cohen, who's estimated net worth of $21.3 billion, is twice as large as any other

major league baseball owner's fortune, reportedly agreed Sunday night to a 15-year $765 million

deal to sign 26-year-old outfielder Juan Soto, who wore Yankee pinstripes last season.

The contract averages out to $51 million a year with no deferred money, making it far more

lucrative in present value than the $700 million deal Shohei Otani inked with the Dodgers

last winter, most of which he won't receive for another decade.

On paper, the math doesn't add up for the Mets to justify this kind of deal, but Cohen, who made

much of his fortune at his hedge fund SAC Capital and now operates 0.72 asset management, doesn't

need it to. The Mets generated $393 million in revenue last year,

according to Forbes estimates, nowhere near their cross-town rivals, the Yankees, who led the league

with $679 million. Meanwhile, the Dodgers, who defeated the Bronx Bombers in the 2024 World

Series and committed more than $1 billion last off-season

to free agents such as Otani and Japanese pitcher Yoshinobu Yamamoto, raked in $549 million

to cover their expenses, thanks largely to a 25-year, $8.4 billion local TV deal, they landed with Time Warner Cable in 2013. While most

Major League Baseball teams turn a modest profit, Forbes estimates the Mets booked an operating loss

of $292 million. The reality is, all Cohen needs to compete with other teams' systemic advantages

...