2022 MLB Payroll Totals

A real-time look at the 2022 payroll totals for each MLB team. These figures derive from a player's payroll salary,
which includes the combination of a base salary, incentives, & any signing bonus proration. Included are players on injured reserve, retained (players released, bought-out, or traded), buried (players buried in the minor leagues with major league contract earnings), and suspended. Link: https://www.spotrac.com/mlb/payroll/

Example: Philadelphia Phillies $215,870,643 (28 man roster) | $5,950,000 (Injured reserve) | $5,500,000 (Retained) | $8,350,000 (Buried) | $233,664,718 (Total)

1: Los Angeles Dodgers $285,508,333

2: New York Mets $256,593,576

3: New York Yankees $245,190,714

4: Philadelphia Phillies $233,664,718

5: San Diego Padres $209,865,010

6: Boston Red Sox $201,816,000

7: Chicago White Sox $192,085,310

8: Los Angeles Angels $189,645,196

9: Atlanta Braves $178,172,548

10: Houston Astros $172,354,651

11: Toronto Blue Jays $170,126,648

12: St. Louis Cardinals $157,046,666

13: San Francisco Giants $152,024,602

LEAGUE AVERAGE: $145,995,348

14: Texas Rangers $145,051,665

15: Chicago Cubs $141,810,000

16: Colorado Rockies $137,852,166

17: Minnesota Twins $132,305,255

18: Detroit Tigers $128,640,000

19: Milwaukee Brewers $128,581,128

20: Washington Nationals $127,597,671

21: Cincinnati Reds $113,579,918

22: Seattle Mariners $102,954,239

23: Kansas City Royals $93,847,630

24: Arizona Diamondbacks $88,563,147

25: Tampa Bay Rays $85,745,966

26: Miami Marlins $79,500,000

27: Pittsburgh Pirates $68,598,656

28: Cleveland Guardians $68,041,274

29: Oakland Athletics $48,918,148

30: Baltimore Orioles $44,179,609

No idea how current this is -- Cleveland uncharacteristically just signed three players to big contracts, for example. So best to use these numbers as a general guide. The point is, payrolls (with a few exceptions) mimic the metro sizes in which the franchises play. Bigger metro area means bigger media contract means bigger payroll. It's also why baseball needs REAL revenue sharing like the NFL.