New York Mets owner and hedge-fund titan Steve Cohen just shocked the sports world, agreeing to pay outfielder Juan Soto $765 million to play baseball for him over the next 15 years.

Why it matters: The nearly 10-figure deal, the biggest contract in the history of pro sports, is huge for Juan Soto — but it might end up being a winner for Cohen too.

The big picture: Owning a professional sports team is a pretty awful way to make money.

• Cohen knows this first-hand. He's spent lavishly on player contracts in the four years since buying the Mets, pushing the business into the red in hopes of building a consistent winner. And it hasn't necessarily worked yet.
• But Juan Soto is not your typical player. At just 26 years old, he's one of the game's premier hitters, and arguably one of the most entertaining.

How it works: The average $51 million a year the Mets will pay Soto (potentially $55 million after five years), will likely be offset to a degree by the money he'll bring to the Mets, which pulled in just under $400 million in revenue in 2023, according to Forbes.

• That extra juice could come in the form of ticket sales, which were down 10% last year from 2023 (when the team reportedly generated $133 million at the gate) — and by the money those extra fans spent on parking ($15 million in 2023), as well as beer, hot dogs, lobster rolls and ballpark sushi ($17 million).
• If all that goes according to plan, the team will sell more advertising in the stadium ($49 million), too.
• "The Mets probably have more room to grow," a Major League Baseball executive told the New York Post, a reference to the indirect financial benefits Soto could bring compared to other teams.

Winning alone brings money too. A team could bring in an extra $50 million just from going to the World Series between the post-season ticket sales and nationally televised games, the Post notes.

• And if this happens, the franchise valuation will jump too.

The intrigue: Cohen is also trying to win support for an $8 billion casino project next to the Mets' Citi Field in Queens, New York, which could generate around $1.9 billion a year by some projections.

• If that planned "Metropolitan Park" were ever built, it likely wouldn't hurt business to have a thriving Mets franchise anchoring the northwest corner.

President-elect Trump on Wednesday said he would nominate former SEC commissioner Paul Atkins to be chairman of the regulator.

Why it matters: Atkins is a favorite of the crypto community, and his appointment signals an even deeper embrace by the coming administration.

Zoom in: Atkins served as a commissioner for the securities regulator from 2002 to 2008 under George W. Bush. (There are five commissioners, including the chair who heads the agency.)

• He's referred to as a pro-business conservative and has advocated for lighter regulation.
• A year after leaving the SEC as a commissioner, he founded a consultancy, Patomak Global Partners, described by Bloomberg as "one of the most prominent sounding boards for banks, trading firms, fintechs ... seeking guidance on how to influence and respond to Washington's edicts and investigations."

What they're saying: "Paul is a proven leader for common sense regulations," Trump said in a Truth Social post. "He believes in the promise of robust, innovative capital markets that are responsive to the needs of Investors, & that provide capital to make our Economy the best in the World."

The big picture: Atkins' nomination can be viewed as the second half of Trump's promise to the crypto industry for a friendlier Securities and Exchange Commission.

• Current chair Gary Gensler, who Trump threatened to "fire" in July, will step down on Inauguration Day. Gensler has led an aggressive tenure at the SEC marked by controversial rulemaking and a combative enforcement approach to the crypto industry.

Editor's note: This report has been updated with additional background information on Atkins.