The Captain's Blog

Updated as of the release of Forbes 2023 revenue estimates and AP reporting of final 2023 MLB payrolls (not AAV).

Provided below is a graphical illustration of total player compensation (in terms of year over year growth and percentage of industry net revenue) segmented by CBA iteration and presiding MLBPA executive director.

Also presented are two interactive charts displaying how much each Major League Baseball team has spent on players relative to their annual revenue, as estimated by Forbes. To display or hide an individual team in the chart at the top, click on the circle icon next to each name. To display or hide a specific period in the chart at the bottom, click on the circle icon next to each year.

MLB Player Compensation vs. League Revenue

Notes: Data Labels represent “year over year comp growth / total comp as percentage of net revenue”. Revenue is net of stadium debt service.  Total compensation is actual payroll + player benefit costs + players’ share of the postseason revenue pool. For pre-2015, benefit costs were determined by working backward from the known 2015 amount and assuming a 4% growth rate (CBA calls for increases up to 10%). For 2021, year over year revenue comparison is to 2019.
Source: captainsblog.info, MLB releases published by AP (actual payroll, post season revenue), baseball-almanac (older postseason revenue) and Forbes (net revenue)

Player Cost (Payroll/Luxury Tax) as a Percentage of Team Revenue, 2001, 2003-2023

Note: Revenue is net of revenue sharing and stadium debt service. Payroll costs excludes benefits, but include luxury tax payments, and is based on final figures for each year released by MLB, and may not necessarily equal the amount upon which the luxury tax is based.
Source: MLB releases published by AP (final payroll), MLB releases published by AP (luxury tax) and Forbes (revenue)