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⚾ Good morning to all, but especially to …

JUAN SOTO AND THE NEW YORK METS

Juan Soto is a very, very rich man, and the Mets are a very, very happy franchise. Soto and the Mets agreed on a 15-year, $765 million deal late Sunday night, marking the largest contract in MLB history.

• Soto easily cleared Shohei Ohtani‘s $700 million deal from last offseason. Before Ohtani, the largest contract in the sport’s history was Mike Trout‘s $426.5 million extension.
• Soto’s contract reportedly includes an opt out after five seasons, a $75 million signing bonus and no deferrals. Here are the key details.
• The Mets beat out the Yankees most notably, but also the Red Sox, Blue Jays and Dodgers. The Yankees reportedly offered 16 years and $760 million, but as Matt Snyder writes, it’s more complicated than that.

It’s not hard to see why Soto was so expensive and so sought after. Even at 26, he’s already considered a future Hall of Famer.

• He’s coming off his best season of his career, slashing .288/.419/.569 with a career-high 41 home runs and a career-high 7.9 WAR for the Yankees.
• He walked more than he struck out for the fifth straight season.
• Soto has five top-10 MVP finishes, five Silver Sluggers, four All-Star Games and a World Series title to his name. Reminder: He’s 26.
• Here’s R.J. Anderson’s full scouting report.

R.J. also has winners and losers from this deal, and how could Soto, the Mets and team owner Steve Cohen be anything but winners?

• Anderson: “Soto’s presence near the top of the Mets order will create more run-scoring chances in multiple respects. Foremost, he’s quite capable of plating himself by launching 30-plus home runs a season. There’s also the cascading effects that come with having a constant on-base threat in tow — not only by giving his teammates more opportunities to bat with a runner on base, but also by wearing down pitchers with lengthy, disciplined at-bats that can reveal more about a pitcher’s approach. You needn’t look further than Soto’s impact on the Yankees lineup last season to see how an elite bat can alter fortunes.”

Here’s more:

👍 Honorable mentions

• In more free agency news, Willy Adames agreed to a seven-year, $182 million deal with the Giants, Tyler O’Neill got three years and $49.5 million from the Orioles, and Blake Treinen returned to the Dodgers on a two-year, $22 million agreement.
• The 76ers‘ Big Three finally played an entire game together. And they won!
• Ja Morant is not done dunking, as he proved in emphatic fashion.
• Cooper Flagg had another big game.
• The college coaching coaching carousel spins: Marshall coach Charles Huff is leaving for Southern Miss, and Marshall hired NC State defensive coordinator Tony Gibson. Also, Purdue hired UNLV‘s Barry Odom, and Scott Frost is returning to UCF.
• The carousel isn’t spinning at Utah (Kyle Whittingham — returning) and Oklahoma State (Mike Gundy — amended contract).
• He’s ba-ack! Scottie Scheffler won the Hero World Challenge, his ninth win of 2024.
• Rick Pitino honored the late Lou Carnesecca as St. John’s beat Kansas State.
• Missouri beat No. 1 Kansas, 76-67, in the Border War. It’s the Tigers’ first win over a No. 1 team since 1997.
• No. 2 UConn star Paige Buckers debuted her Nike GT Hustle 3 PE as the Huskies blew out No. 22 Louisville.
• Here’s the Valkyries‘ initial roster via the WNBA expansion draft, and here are winners and losers from the draft.
• It was a busy weekend for the Rangers, who signed Igor Shesterkin to an eight-year, $92 million extension and traded Jacob Trouba to the Ducks.
• Amber Glenn is the first American to win the Grand Prix Final since 2010.
• The Galaxy beat the Red Bulls, 2-1, to win the MLS Cup. What a remarkable turnaround — and reinvention — from LA, Pardeep Cattry writes.

😬 And not such a good morning for …

THE NEW YORK YANKEES

Yankees fans are probably a combination of incredulous, angry and distraught. And they should be. Mike Axisa says Soto choosing their Subway Series rival is a damning indictment of MLB’s foremost organization.

• Axisa: “The Yankees have gradually whittled away at their image and have gone from baseball’s biggest and most popular franchise to just a regular old big-market team. They spend a lot of money, sure, and I’m certain they’ll sign a few free agents in response to letting Soto walk, but the Yankees don’t dominate baseball anymore. They’re very good, infrequently elite, and regularly a runner-up. ... The Yankees will sign other players and talk about building a more balanced team, but that won’t replace Soto. They valued him at 16 years and $760 million. They obviously know he’s a franchise player. Now he’s the Mets’ franchise player.”

👎 Not so honorable mentions

🏈 College Football Playoff set after conference championship weekend

Conference championship Saturday provided plenty of drama for college football’s version of Selection Sunday, and after months of debating, wondering and questioning what the first 12-team College Football Playoff would look like, we have our answer.

The first round looks like this:

• BYES: No. 1 Oregon, No. 2 Georgia, No. 3 Boise State, No. 4 Arizona State
• (12) Clemson at (5) Texas
• (9) Tennessee at (8) Ohio State
• (11) SMU at (6) Penn State
• (10) Indiana at (7) Notre Dame

Here’s the full CFP schedule.

How did we get here? Well, that’s a whole ‘nother story. I know everyone wants to talk Playoff, but conference titles matter, too.

• The biggest impact came from the ACC Championship Game. Clemson blew a massive lead, only to recover just in time, with Nolan Hauser nailing a 56-yard field goal for a 34-31 win. The Tigers were outside the Playoff picture coming in but guaranteed themselves a berth by winning the ACC.
• The SEC Championship Game didn’t lack drama, either. After Carson Beck suffered a right arm injury on the final play of the first half, backup Gunnar Stockton rallied the troops and rallied Georgia to a 22-19 overtime win over Texas. Stockton was far from perfect, but he sure was gutsy, and the selection committee should thank him, John Talty writes.
• Oregon beat Penn State, 45-37, in the Big Ten Championship Game, an absolutely delightful game. Dillon Gabriel and Drew Allar staged an epic quarterback battle with Tez Johnson, Nick Singleton and Kaytron Allen in supporting roles. The Ducks’ Big Ten debut has been excellent, and it’s not done, Dennis Dodd writes.
• Arizona State walloped Iowa State, 45-19, in the Big 12 Championship Game. What a rise its been for the Sun Devils. coach Kenny Dillingham and FCS backup-turned-star running back Cam Skattebo, Shehan Jeyarajah writes.
• Boise State beat UNLV, 21-7, in the Mountain West Championship Game. Let the Ashton Jeanty-vs.-Travis Hunter Heisman Trophy debates rage, and read Shehan’s case for Jeanty.

Now that we’re caught up, let’s assess:

No matter if it’s two teams, four teams or 12 teams competing for a championship, there will always be teams feeling the burn of being so close yet so far. And this year, that distinction belongs to Alabama and Miami. The Crimson Tide and Hurricanes were the first two teams out, ranked 11th and 13th, respectively. (Remember, the top five-ranked conference champions get automatic bids, meaning 12th-ranked Arizona State and 16th-ranked Clemson got in as conference champs despite being ranked lower.)

Alabama vs. SMU seemed to be the critical decision, especially after committee chair Warde Manuel said last week that it was “possible” the Mustangs would be left out if they lost the ACC Championship Game.

Yes, it’s a hard pill to swallow for the 11th-ranked team to not make a 12-team playoff, and Will says Alabama feels the most pain of all.

🏈 Rams top Bills despite Josh Allen’s record-setting outing

He had three touchdowns passing, three touchdowns rushing, became one of two players to ever do it … and lost.

Josh Allen‘s historic game wasn’t enough as the Bills fell to the Rams 44-42 in one of the best games of the season. Allen joined Hall of Famer Otto Graham as the only players with three touchdowns through the air and three on the ground. But Graham did it in the 1954 NFL Championship, a dozen years before the Super Bowl even started.

Allen legitimately looks superhuman out there. He glides past linemen and linebackers, blasts through defensive backs and fires laser beams all over. I just sat and smiled watching this game. Sometimes you have to simply appreciate the absurd things these people do.

Of course, the Rams are the ones smiling most after this result. This is a marvelous win for a team that’s now 7-6 and very much in playoff contention. Matthew Stafford threw for 320 yards and two scores, and Kyren Williams scored two touchdowns rushing. Puka Nacua had 162 yards receiving, a touchdown catch, a touchdown run and multiple catches that didn’t look humanly possible. It was going to take something incredible to beat Allen, and the Rams produced just that.

🏈 Football Five

1. Whatever spells the Chiefs have put on the NFL, it’s working. Matthew Wright doinked in a 35-yard field goal as time expired to lift Kansas City to a 19-17 win over the Chargers and clinch the franchise’s ninth straight AFC West title, the second-longest division title streak in NFL history. It’s the Chiefs’ sixth walk-off win this season. They’re 10-0 in one-score games.
2. In his return to Minnesota, Kirk Cousins was booed, picked off twice and defeated, 42-21, by his former team. Sam Darnold threw five touchdowns — three to Jordan Addison and two to Justin Jefferson — and was one of Week 14’s biggest winners. The Vikings‘ defense had an amazing celebration after intercepting Cousins, too, and Bryant McFadden says it’s time for the Falcons to bench Cousins.
3. The Steelers thumped the Browns, 27-14, thanks to three Cleveland turnovers and a strong second half from Russell Wilson. Pittsburgh earned an “A-” in John Breech’s Week 14 grades.
4. Scorigami!!! The Dolphins beat the Jets, 32-26, in overtime, a score that had never been seen before. New York blew yet another late lead, this time in large part due to Davante Adams going out of bounds, which stopped the clock and gave the Dolphins one last chance to force overtime. After they did, they got the ball first, and Tua Tagovailoa threw the game-winning touchdown to Jonnu Smith. The Jets were officially eliminated from playoff contention.
5. The Eagles held on for a 22-16 win over the Panthers, with the defense getting a late stop. Saquon Barkley set Philadelphia’s new single-season rushing record, and Jeff Kerr says worries about Jalen Hurts are overblown. This bettor who gambled $3.1 million to win $442,800 is certainly happy Philadelphia won.

📺 What we’re watching Monday

🏀 Raptors at Knicks, 7:30 p.m. on NBA TV
🏈 Bengals at Cowboys, 8:15 p.m. on ABC/ESPN