The Juan Soto contract twist that can make new Mets star an $800 million man

Some early rumors in the Juan Soto sweepstakes painted Steve Cohen potentially willing to outbid the field by $50 million to land the star slugger.

Well, turns out he went $45 million higher — and it may make Soto an $800 million man.

Soto’s historic 15-year, $765 million contract with the Mets can reach $805 million if the Mets void his opt-out clause after his fifth season with the team.

The Mets, however, can lock him in for another 10 years by upping his average annual salary (AAV) from $51 million to $55 million after the 2029 season.

It’s hard to project five years out, but it’s fair to assume based on Soto’s current trajectory that he will be in a position to opt out in five years when he will be 31.

While it may be fair to wonder if a 31-year-old Soto — who may become a full-time DH later in his career — could land a $10-year, $510 million free-agent deal, the Mets may not want to take that chance.

Cohen has shown that money is no object, and Soto will still likely have several more peak years left before the contract becomes troublesome.

The Yankees had a similar clause with Gerrit Cole’s contract — Scott Boras represents both players — which allowed him to opt out unless the Yankees added a 10th year for $36 million.

The parties eventually agreed to just continue on their original nine-year, $324 million deal.

Follow The Post’s coverage of Juan Soto’s historic megadeal with the Mets:

The extra $40 million Soto could then earn over the following 10 years would bump his earnings from an already-record $765 million to the even more historic $805 million figure.

Soto’s contract would then go from averaging $51 million per season to $53.67 million per season over the course of his Mets tenure.

Shohei Ohtani tops Soto in that regard with his $70 million AAV, but that comes with the caveat that he is being paid to be both a hitter and a pitcher — and that he deferred $680 million, making the present-day value of his contract roughly $460 million.

There are no deferrals in Soto’s deal.

Soto, once he plays his first game with the Mets, will be the sport’s first strictly position player to earn at least $50 million per season.

The $40 million bump also differentiates the Mets’ offer from the Yankees‘, which came in at $760 million over 16 years ($47.5 million per season).