MLB - payroll (opening day) by team 2019
Opening day payrolls of Major League Baseball teams in 2019 (in million U.S. dollars)
The opening day payroll of teams in the MLB is calculated by combining the base salary, incentives, and any signing bonuses. At the beginning of the 2019 season, the Boston Red Sox had the highest combined payroll in the league, amounting to over 213 million U.S. dollars. At the other end of the scale, the Miami Marlins had an opening day payroll of just under 63 million U.S. dollars.
Pitchers take home the money
The MLB has a minimum player salary in place to ensure that its professionals are rewarded for the work that they do. In 2019, the minimum salary for an MLB player was 555 thousand U.S. dollars per year, a significant increase from the minimum of 400 thousand U.S. dollars ten years earlier. However, the average player salary in the league in 2019 stood at 4.36 million U.S. dollars, almost eight times the value of the minimum salary. This figure is skewed by the fact that the top earners in baseball take home significant amounts of money. Typically, it is the pitchers within a baseball team that earn the biggest wages due to their integral role. Indeed, pitchers dominated the list of highest earning players in the MLB, with Stephen Strasburg topping the list. The pitcher for the Washington Nationals took home an eye-watering 38.33 million U.S. dollars in 2019.
MLB Luxury Tax
The San Francisco Giants top the league when it comes to average player salaries as each of their professionals took home an average of 7.38 million U.S. dollars in the 2018 season. However, to avoid such wealth disparity amongst the teams, Major League Baseball implements a luxury tax (or competitive balance tax). This tax is paid by any teams whose annual payroll exceeds the league limit which, in 2019, stood at 206 million U.S. dollars. In the 2018 season, a combined total of 14.34 million U.S. dollars was paid in Competitive Balance Tax by the teams of the MLB.
Opening day payrolls of Major League Baseball teams in 2019 (in million U.S. dollars)
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| Total payroll in million U.S. dollars | |
|---|---|
| Boston Red Sox | 213.19 |
| Chicago Cubs | 208.2 |
| New York Yankees | 206.41 |
| Washington Nationals | 181.4 |
| Houston Astros | 177.44 |
| Philadelphia Phillies | 172.37 |
| Los Angeles Angels | 167.46 |
| New York Mets | 161.87 |
| Los Angeles Dodgers | 152.86 |
| St. Louis Cardinals | 150.37 |
| Colorado Rockies | 149.34 |
| San Francisco Giants | 138.03 |
| Seattle Mariners | 135.8 |
| Milwaukee Brewers | 130.39 |
| Cincinnati Reds | 128.82 |
| Minnesota Twins | 113.59 |
| Atlanta Braves | 110.53 |
| Arizona Diamondbacks | 107.58 |
| Cleveland Indians | 107.35 |
| Texas Rangers | 102.46 |
| Oakland Athletics | 96.83 |
| Chicago White Sox | 96.7 |
| Detroit Tigers | 96.24 |
| San Diego Padres | 94.43 |
| Kansas City Royals | 83.08 |
| Tampa Bay Rays | 68.98 |
| Baltimore Orioles | 67.37 |
| Toronto Blue Jays | 66.63 |
| Pittsburgh Pirates | 65.92 |
| Miami Marlins | 62.91 |
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