On "First Take," Rex Ryan seemed to insinuate that Juan Soto only signed with the Mets because the players' association forced him to. Credit: ‘First Take’
By Sam Neumann on

If Rex Ryan was looking to endear himself to New York Jets fans, he isn’t exactly doing a good job.

Despite being open about his desire for Gang Green’s head coaching opening, Ryan still holds court on ESPN’s airwaves. And he seemingly alienated more than half of the fanbase that also roots for the New York Mets, as he made quite the accusation over the air on Monday morning.

The former Jets and Buffalo Bills head coach seemed to insinuate that Juan Soto only signed with the Mets because the players’ association forced him to. Why Ryan is included in a First Take segment alongside Chris Russo and Shannon Sharpe to talk about Major League Baseball is anyone’s guess, but he does know the dynamic of the sports town better than anybody.

As for why Soto signed with the Mets, well, that leaves much to be desired.

“It’s interesting, you’re talking about pressures, and maybe he doesn’t want the pressure of playing with the Yankees,” Ryan said of Soto. “No, no, there’s a bigger pressure in Major League Baseball, and it’s to be respected. The players’ union puts an incredible amount of pressure on their players to go to the money, to go to the biggest money there is. That’s the only reason why.”

Is it? Do the Mets not have a brighter outlook than the Yankees? We know Soto had questions about the organization’s player development and the overall talent pipeline. Is it possible that those concerns were also valid in addition to the money?

Absolutely.

Seemingly not to Ryan, though.

“I mean, come on guys, if it was apples to apples, he doesn’t leave,” Ryan added. “He doesn’t leave. But right now, the players’ union is like, ‘No, no, son, you got to do this for the betterment of our players.’ No players’ union does it better than Major League Baseball; that’s why he’s a New York Met. He chased the dollar, and it’s no different than almost every one of these guys in baseball. They always take the dollar.”

That very well may be true that Soto chased the dollar, but no one seems to agree with Ryan’s central premise.

Let’s take a step back here and analyze Verlander’s point.

When you get down to the nuts and bolts of the deal, the Yankees’ offer didn’t match what Steve Cohen and the Mets were offering. But it’s not just about the money. Soto clearly valued where he would likely spend the next 15 years of his career, and it’s possible he preferred the long-term vision of the Mets over the uncertainty in the Bronx.

It’s tough to take Ryan seriously in this case, especially when the facts tell a very different story.

And quite frankly, he may not have even belonged in this conversation to begin with.

[First Take]

About Sam Neumann

Since the beginning of 2023, Sam has been a staff writer for Awful Announcing and The Comeback. A 2021 graduate of Temple University, Sam is a Charlotte native, who currently calls Greenville, South Carolina his home. He also has a love/hate relationship with the New York Mets and Jets.

View all posts by Sam Neumann