How Does Juan Soto's Record-Setting Contract Compare to Reds' Payroll Over Past 15 Years?

The Cincinnati Reds were never going to afford Juan Soto, but just what does that exactly mean?

Assuming the Reds have the same payroll for 2025 that they had in 2024 (it will differ, I know, but for the sake of this article we are estimating this), then they have an adjusted payroll total of   $1,507,205,682 over the last 15 years, per Spotrac. I chose 15 years because that is the length of Soto’s contract.

That means that Soto will literally make half of what the Reds paid to every player they’ve had for the last 15 years, by himself. He agreed to a 15-year, $765 million contract with the Mets on Sunday night.

If you go by a per-year basis, Soto would have represented at least half the Reds total payroll in nine of the 15 seasons.

I would love for the Reds to be able to afford every single player on the market, but it is clear they have never shown the ability to give this kind of contract to a player.