Mets ace Jacob deGrom says he's got 137 MILLION reasons to thank Noah Syndergaard ... 'cause the star pitcher tells TMZ Sports his teammate helped him seal the deal on his new contract!!
Of course, deGrom had been fighting for a new deal for months after winning the Cy Young last year ... even reportedly threatening to put a cap on his innings this season if a contract didn't get done.
Enter Syndergaard ... who told Mets ownership "pay the man already" -- and when it worked to the tune of 5 years, $137.5 MILLION -- Jacob was super thankful.
"It was cool," deGrom says when we got him out in D.C. on Wednesday ... "We're out there fighting together and seeing him pulling for me, I appreciate it."
As for what deGrom did after inking that mammoth contract ... he tells us there were no steak dinners or fancy parties ...
"I had to get a physical and then I get to pitch tomorrow."
Not quite champagne and lobster ... but hey, he does get 5 days off once he finishes up with the Nationals on Thursday!!!!