NEW YORK (AP) — The average salary of Major League Baseball players in the United States surpassed the $5 million mark on Opening Day for the first time, according to a study by The Associated Press.
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The New York Mets, with Juan Soto’s record-breaking salary of $61.9 million, led MLB for the third consecutive opening day with a payroll of $322.6 million, just ahead of the World Series champion Los Angeles Dodgers, with $319.5 million.
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These two teams spent approximately five times more than the Miami Marlins, who with 64.9 million dollars ended the Athletics’ three-year streak as the team with the lowest expenditure.
Why did salaries increase in MLB?
The average increased by 3.6% to $5,160,245. That was an increase compared to the 1.5% rise last year, but a decrease compared to the 11.1% increase in 2023.
With the addition of Blake Snell, Michael Conforto, Tanner Scott, and Kirby Yates, the Dodgers increased their payroll by 69 million dollars, the highest figure in the league, since opening day last year.
The Orioles increased spending by $66 million, followed by Arizona ($55 million), San Diego ($47 million), Philadelphia ($41 million), and Detroit ($39 million).
The Dodgers’ payroll figure remained low, but only thanks to deferred payments: Shohei Ohtani’s average salary of $70 million annually won’t be fully paid until 2035, making him the 18th highest-paid player. Other Dodgers players with deferred payments include Mookie Betts, Tommy Edman, Freddie Freeman, Teoscar Hernández, Scott, Will Smith, and Snell.
After their record season of 121 losses, the Chicago White Sox reduced their payroll by $60.8 million, San Francisco by $39.1 million, Miami by $31.7 million, and St. Louis by $31.6 million. The Yankees, champions of the American League, decreased by $18.5 million.
Who are the highest paid players in MLB?
Juan Soto, with $61.9 million, broke the previous record of $43.3 million shared by pitchers Max Scherzer and Justin Verlander under agreements they also signed with the Mets.
Philadelphia Phillies pitcher Zack Wheeler is second with 42 million dollars, followed by Texas pitcher Jacob deGrom, and New York Yankees outfielder Aaron Judge, with 40 million dollars each.
Of the 953 players in the Major Leagues on Opening Day, 526 had salaries of one million dollars or more, 55% of the total. There were 15 players with 30 million dollars or more, 66 with 20 million dollars, and 177 with ten million dollars.
A total of 35 players earn the minimum of 760,000 dollars.
Average and median salaries decrease throughout the season as veterans are released and replaced by younger players who earn closer to the minimum. The average player salary was $4.98 million at the beginning of last season. MLB calculated the final average at $4.59 million and the players’ association at $4.66 million.
The figures for AP include salaries and prorated portions of signing bonuses and other guaranteed income.