Earlier this year, Steve Cohen laid out his principles as the owner of the New York Mets, saying it was a “philanthropic” endeavor, in an interview with CNBC’s Andrew Ross Sorkin.

“I don’t care about the cost side,” Cohen said, adding: “If I can make millions of people happy, how cool is that? I actually do it as a civic responsibility.”

That attitude helps explain how outfielder Juan Soto ended up agreeing to the richest-ever contract in baseball on Sunday, and among the most lucrative signed by any professional athlete in the world. 

The deal for Soto, who’s 26 and from the Dominican Republic, comes to $765 million over 15 years and includes a $75 million signing bonus and has the potential to increase to more than $800 million, according to MLB.com.

What’s especially notable about the contract is that none of the money is “deferred” — meaning it must be paid each year that Soto is on the Mets’ active roster. Besides the dollar amount, the lack of deferrals is what makes Soto’s contract even more eye-popping than the $700 million deal signed just last year by Los Angeles Dodgers star Shohei Ohtani: $680 million of Ohtani’s deal will not be paid until after 2034. 

For Soto, it means taking all the money up front. 

“It actually makes little sense why (Soto) would get such a big contract without deferrals,” Nathan Goldman, an associate professor of accounting at North Carolina State University, said in an interview with NBC News.    

Given the hefty combined personal income tax rates — approximately 15% for the wealthiest residents — levied by the city and state of New York, Soto’s ultimate payout will be somewhat diminished. 

Yet Soto retains the potential to earn even more money: According to MLB.com, he can opt out of his contract after his fifth year with the Mets if he believes he can command higher sums on the free market. 

However, the Mets can override that opt-out by increasing his annual salary by $4 million a year, from $51 million to $55 million for the final 10 years. 

And Soto’s contract does not include the amount the Mets and Cohen will have to pay to satisfy Major League Baseball’s luxury tax. Though ostensibly designed to create a more even playing field between large- and small-market teams, deep-pocketed owners like Cohen have not flinched at paying that penalty to acquire the most coveted players. 

The simple answer to unlocking Soto’s contract may simply be Cohen. Despite regularly carrying some of the most expensive contracts in baseball this century — including a $340 million deal signed with shortstop Francisco Lindor in 2022 — the Mets have been thwarted time and time again, including crushing losses in the playoffs and World Series. The team is nearing the 40th anniversary of its last championship.  The outlook seemed to change five years ago, when Cohen, a longtime hedge fund manager, purchased the team for $2.4 billion. Cohen has been an unusually accessible owner, meeting with fans on multiple occasions and often weighing in on social media. 

More importantly: Cohen, worth as much as $21.3 billion according to Forbes, has been among the most profligate owners in baseball since he took the reins of the team. According to data from Spotrac, a website that monitors sports spending, the Mets have held the largest annual payroll since 2023. A separate index from TheScore.com that tracks payrolls versus teams’ approximate revenues shows Cohen may actually be operating the team at a loss.   

Despite the annual ratcheting of payrolls, the winner of the World Series has often been unpredictable. But the baseball gods have been notoriously cruel to the Mets, despite their outsize spending. After crashing out of the first round of the playoffs in 2022 with a roster full of veterans, Cohen blew up the team and traded for prospects while loading up on another set of expensive free agents. 

But that team still only tied for second in the National League East Division this year and barely made the playoffs. While they nevertheless made it to the National League Championship Series, they were ultimately bested by the Los Angeles Dodgers, who went on to win the World Series in October.

Yet over time, payroll does seem to equate to winning — belying the infamous “Moneyball” approach to spending efficiently on under-used players. 

With Soto’s contract, it seems Cohen will not be denied again. According to reports, the New York Yankees, baseball’s long-running big spenders, offered Soto only $5 million less than the Mets. But despite making the World Series this year, the Bronx Bombers have faced roster turmoil in recent years, while continuing to employ a manager, Aaron Boone, now loathed by many fans. 

Ironically, Soto is coming over from the Yankees, where he was traded in December 2023.  

Soto is entering his peak years and continues to draw comparisons to the hitting legends Ted Williams and Barry Bonds. That combination of youth and potential helped clinch the salary record.    

Another key to Soto ending up with such a massive contract was simply timing. He took advantage of a year lacking in other mega free agents and was able to command a premium on the open market. 

It’s possible Soto’s contract will be surpassed in just one year. Analysts say Toronto Blue Jays star Vladimir Guerrero Jr., who finished sixth in MVP voting last season, is expected to command massive numbers when he enters free agency after the 2025 season. 

Even if no one ends up reaching or surpassing Soto’s figure, MLB will continue to lead all professional sports in titanic deals for contracts, for one simple reason: Unlike the NFL and NBA, it doesn’t have a salary cap.

According to Michael Ginnitti, Spotrac’s founder and managing editor, “Baseball’s luxury tax system … allows billionaires to spend billions on their team if they choose.”

A U.S. district judge in Oregon has blocked a $25 billion bid by supermarket giant Kroger to take over rival Albertsons, ruling that the Federal Trade Commission’s concerns about the merger’s impact on market consolidation were valid.

Judge Adrienne Nelson said Tuesday afternoon that a merger between the two companies would end up harming consumers.

The two companies ‘engage in substantial head-to-head competition and the proposed merger would remove that competition,’ Ferguson wrote. As a result, the proposed merger would be likely to lead to outcomes that ‘unilaterally’ harm consumers and is thus ‘presumptively unlawful. ‘

Ferguson also ruled the merger would be bad for workers, arguing that increased consolidation would reduce workers’ bargaining power.

Albertsons said in a statement that it is ‘disappointed by the U.S. District Court’s decision to grant the FTC’s request for a preliminary injunction.’

‘We believe we clearly outlined during the proceedings how the proposed merger would expand competition, lower prices, increase associate wages, protect union jobs, and enhance customers’ shopping experience. We are carefully reviewing the Court’s opinion and are evaluating our options in accordance with the merger agreement,’ it said.

A spokesperson for Kroger also expressed disappointment and said the company ‘is currently reviewing its options.’

Kroger, based in Cincinnati, has said a court ruling like this one would effectively scuttle the merger.

The FTC applauded the decision, saying the agency “scored a major victory for the American people, successfully blocking Kroger’s acquisition of Albertsons.’

‘This victory has a direct, tangible impact on the lives of millions of Americans who shop at Kroger or Albertsons-owned grocery stores for their everyday needs, whether that’s a Fry’s in Arizona, a Von’s in Southern California, or a Jewel-Osco in Illinois,’ the FTC said in a statement.

Kroger shares closed up 5% Tuesday, while shares of Albertsons, based in Boise, Idaho, finished 2% lower.

Kroger had argued the deal was necessary for it to continue to compete with big box retailers like Walmart and Target, as well as Amazon, that have significantly grown their grocery businesses.

But Nelson said that ‘supermarkets’ still represent a distinct, niche market within the U.S. consumer landscape and that the impacts from the proposed merger must be accounted for.

The ruling is a victory for the Biden administration and especially FTC Chair Lina Khan, who has taken an unprecedentedly aggressive approach to countering mergers likely to create monopolies.

Salt Lake City has grown from a winter sports venue to a vibrant technology hub in just two decades, leveraging the legacy of the 2002 Winter Olympics to transform into one of America’s fastest-growing business destinations.

Known as part of Utah’s “Silicon Slopes,” the city has become a magnet for entrepreneurial spirit, venture capital and a flourishing workforce. Over the past decade, wages have risen by 51%, and the population has increased by 10%, according to the Census Bureau.

Former Utah Gov. Michael Leavitt credits the Olympics with spurring major infrastructure projects in Salt Lake City, attracting technology talent and establishing an economic legacy that continues to shape the region’s identity.

“The Games were a great catalyst. And big economic growth needs a catalyst like that,” Leavitt told CNBC for the upcoming “Cities of Success: Salt Lake City” special, premiering Tuesday at 10 p.m. ET.

In 2002, the world watched as Salt Lake City welcomed athletes and spectators to the Winter Olympics. But for Leavitt, who served as governor from 1993 to 2003, the Games meant much more than 17 days of sporting excitement. 

“The 17 days of the Games is very important,” Leavitt said. “But it’s what happens in the seven or eight years in advance — and what happens in the 10 years after — that ultimately makes the Games a worthwhile experience, both economically and culturally.”

The 2002 Games utilized 10 facilities, all of which continue to serve the community and attract major events, including the Olympic Oval, a premier speed skating venue still used by aspiring Olympians today. 

The multimillion-dollar facility is said to have the “fastest ice on Earth” by athletes who have broken records on it.

Experts say the high altitude — more than 4,600 feet above sea level — reduces air resistance, which may help give skaters an edge when it comes to speed.

In preparation for the Games, Leavitt said, Utah invested in infrastructure improvements, including light rail and major highways, creating lasting benefits for both residents and visitors.

“It’s a lot like having a party at your house — a lot gets done with that deadline,” Leavitt told CNBC. “We competed with the world and realized we can win.”

Salt Lake City’s 2002 Olympics cost about $2 billion and turned a profit. The University of Utah’s Kem C. Gardner Policy Institute reports the state’s allocation for the Games resulted in a $164 million surplus, with $59 million returned to taxpayers.

In the 15 years following the Games, skier visits to Utah increased by 43%, hotel and lodging revenue grew by 70%, and visitor spending soared by 66%, according to the Gardner Institute.

″[The early 90s] was at a time when technology was just beginning to emerge,” Leavitt said. “Up until that point, Utah had been both agriculturally based as well as defense — but there was an ambition on our part to become a tech capital.”

During preparations for the Olympics, Leavitt met with Adobe co-founder and Salt Lake City native John Warnock in Silicon Valley to discuss building a tech community in Utah.

Leavitt recalled a comment Warnock made to him: “If you want [me] to come to Utah, I need engineers.”

Acting on Warnock’s advice, in 2001, Leavitt and the state of Utah launched the Engineering and Computer Science Initiative. The program aimed to improve higher education in these fields by expanding faculty and programs, ultimately doubling the number of engineering and computer science graduates over two decades with a cumulative $40.1 million investment.

With state funding, colleges and universities rose to the challenge, aligning programs with student interests and industry demands. Since then, public and private investments have continued to grow, driven by the region’s increasing need for tech workers.

Adobe years later acquired Utah-based Omniture for $1.8 billion, signaling Utah’s capacity to build competitive tech enterprises, Leavitt said.

“It was the combination of a clear vision, dramatically ratcheting up the number of engineers we were educating, and having the Olympics and a place they wanted to live,” Leavitt said. “All of that came together into what’s become one of the most robust economies in the country around technology.”

With the 2034 Winter Games set to return to Salt Lake City, Utah aims to build on its existing infrastructure with an estimated $31 million in upgrades — a modest cost compared with the $286.7 million spent in 2002.

The state expects the upcoming Games to generate $6.6 billion in economic activity, create 42,000 job-years of employment — the equivalent of 4,200 full-time jobs for 10 years — and add nearly $3.9 billion to Utah’s economy, solidifying the Olympics’ role in Utah’s flourishing tech landscape.

“We now have advantages we didn’t have,” Leavitt said. “We have all of the infrastructure that’s there, and we have a reputation. The Games will be done well in 2034. There’s just no question about it.”

Disclosure: CNBC parent NBCUniversal owns NBC Sports and NBC Olympics. NBC Olympics is the U.S. broadcast rights holder to all Summer and Winter Games through 2032.

Albertsons on Wednesday formally terminated its proposed $25 billion merger with Kroger and filed a lawsuit against its supermarket competitor, saying Kroger violated its contract and didn’t follow through on commitments to help get the deal approved.

It comes a day after a judge blocked the planned tie-up.

In a news release, Albertsons said Kroger broke its merger agreement “by repeatedly refusing to divest assets necessary for antitrust approval, ignoring regulators’ feedback, rejecting stronger divestiture buyers and failing to cooperate with Albertsons.”

“Kroger’s self-serving conduct, taken at the expense of Albertsons and the agreed transaction, has harmed Albertsons’ shareholders, associates and consumers,” Albertsons’ General Counsel and Chief Policy Officer Tom Moriarty said in a statement. “We are disappointed that the opportunity to realize the significant benefits of the merger has been lost on account of Kroger’s willfully deficient approach to securing regulatory clearance.”

In a statement, Kroger called the allegations in the lawsuit “baseless and without merit.”

“This is clearly an attempt to deflect responsibility following Kroger’s written notification of Albertsons’ multiple breaches of the agreement, and to seek payment of the merger’s break fee, to which they are not entitled,” the company’s statement said.

About two years ago, Kroger announced plans to buy Albertsons and combine forces to fend off Walmart, Amazon and Costco. The deal would have put nearly 40 supermarket chains, including Kroger’s Fred Meyer and Albertsons’ Safeway under a single company.

The lawsuit Wednesday amounts to something of a corporate divorce battle.

The companies are at odds about who should pay for the legal fees associated with the merger and who, if anyone, is responsible for paying a breakup fee.

Albertsons said in its news release that it is owed both a $600 million termination fee and “relief reflecting the multiple years and hundreds of millions of dollars it devoted to obtaining approval for the merger, along with the extended period of unnecessary limbo Albertsons endured as a result of Kroger’s actions.”

Kroger, on the other hand, pushed back against payments to Albertsons in its statement and said it “looks forward to responding to these baseless claims in court.”

Shares of Albertsons and Kroger were up about 0.5% and 1%, respectively, in early trading Wednesday.

A rogue employee was responsible for hiding $151 million in delivery expenses over the course of nearly three years, Macy’s said Wednesday.

In a statement accompanying its quarterly earnings results, the department store chain said a single employee responsible for small package delivery expense accounting had intentionally created erroneous cost entries from the fourth quarter of 2021 through the third quarter of 2024. The employee also falsified underlying documents, according to a Macy’s regulatory filing Wednesday morning.

Macy’s Chairman and CEO Tony Spring said on the company’s earnings call that its investigation found the employee “acted alone and did not pursue these acts for personal gain.”

The employee told investigators that a mistake was initially made in accounting for small parcel delivery expenses, and then the person made intentional errors to hide the mistake, according to sources familiar with the investigation.

In an announcement last month that first revealed the situation, Macy’s estimated the erroneous entries totaled between $132 million and $154 million. The revelation led Macy’s to delay reporting its quarterly results for two weeks and caused its shares to tumble.

“We’ve concluded our investigation and are strengthening our existing controls and implementing additional changes designed to prevent this from happening again and demonstrate our strong commitment to corporate governance,” Spring said in a statement. “Our focus is on ensuring that ethical conduct and integrity are upheld across the entire organization.”

Macy’s did not disclose any additional information about how the employee’s actions were discovered and reiterated that the person is ‘no longer with the company.’

Macy’s said the investigation found that its internal accounting controls were vulnerable to employees sidestepping them. The company said it is revising those processes.

After consulting with its longtime independent accounting firm, KPMG, Macy’s also said that a report released in February on its internal controls ‘should no longer be relied upon’ — nor should KPMG’s previous endorsement of Macy’s internal controls.

In premarket trading Wednesday, Macy’s shares were down as much as 11% as it also reported earnings that missed analysts’ estimates.

Although $151 million is small relative to the $4.36 billion Macy’s said it had tallied in overall delivery expenses during the period in question, it is more than the entire company’s most recent fiscal year net profit of $105 million.

The discovery also comes as Macy’s attempts a turnaround amid broad shifts in consumer habits, with the chain having announced in February a plan to close 150 stores over several years. Earlier this week, an outside investor group said it had taken a significant stake in Macy’s seeking to shake up the retailer’s operations, including monetizing its real estate holdings.