Major League Baseball - payroll (opening day) by team 2020
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 2020 season, the New York Yankees had the highest combined payroll in the league, amounting to over 254 million U.S. dollars. At the other end of the scale, the Miami Marlins had an opening day payroll of just under 59 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.
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.
