Major League Baseball is an outlier in the American sporting landscape in that teams do not operate under a salary cap. There is no limit to the amount of money organizations can spend in pursuit of the World Series. On the other side of the coin there is no salary floor, which creates widespread disparity across the 30 teams.
Clubs that exceed a predetermined payroll threshold must pay the Competitive Balance Tax, known more commonly a the luxury tax. This is an escalating figure that went up to $244 million for the 2026 season. A team's Competitive Balance Tax figure is calculated using the average annual value of each player's contract on the 40-man roster, plus any additional player benefit.
MLB team payrolls for 2026
| Team | 2026 Payroll |
|---|---|
| Dodgers | $395.8 million |
| Mets | $367.9 million |
| Yankees | $325.4 million |
| Phillies | $309.5 million |
| Blue Jays | $302.4 million |
| Padres | $262.2 million |
| Red Sox | $256.3 million |
| Tigers | $236.6 million |
| Braves | $233.0 million |
| Astros | $228.1 million |
| Cubs | $222.4 million |
| Giants | $221.6 million |
| Rangers | $199.4 million |
| Orioles | $198.2 million |
| Angels | $187.0 million |
| Mariners | $182.6 million |
| Royals | $181.9 million |
| Diamondbacks | $162.0 million |
| Reds | $139.0 million |
| Athletics | $137.0 million |
| Brewers | $129.1 million |
| Pirates | $120.7 million |
| Cardinals | $119.7 million |
| Nationals | $106.3 million |
| White Sox | $105.5 million |
| Rockies | $105.3 million |
| Twins | $101.6 million |
| Rays | $98.8 million |
| Guardians | $97.0 million |
| Marlins | $77.3 million |
Whether one thinks the latitude for teams to spend whatever they want is a good thing for baseball or bad, there is no argument against the blatant evidence that high payroll teams have enjoyed far more success than those operating on a tight budget.
Highest paid players in MLB for 2026
There are many ways for teams to construct contracts. For this exercise we will use the average annual value for each player's current contract
| Player | Team | AAV |
|---|---|---|
| Shohei Ohtani | Dodgers | $70 million |
| Kyle Tucker | Dodgers | $60 million |
| Juan Soto | Mets | $51 million |
| Bo Bichette | Mets | $42 million |
| Zack Wheeler | Phillies | $42 million |
| Aaron Judge | Yankees | $40 million |
| Framber Valdez | Tigers | $38.3 million |
| Jacob deGrom | Rangers | $37 million |
| Blake Snell | Dodgers | $36.4 million |
| Gerrit Cole | Yankees | $36 million |
World Series winners by payroll
The winning formula in baseball is not as easy as "highest payroll equals World Series" but historic trends suggest that small-market, tight-pursed teams have an uphill battle on their hands competing against the big boys. Nineteen of the past 26 World Series champions have been in the top-10 of payroll.
| Year | Champion | Payroll Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | Dodgers | 2nd |
| 2024 | Dodgers | 3rd |
| 2023 | Rangers | 4th |
| 2022 | Astros | 8th |
| 2021 | Braves | 10th |
| 2020 | Dodgers | 1st |
| 2019 | Nationals | 7th |
| 2018 | Red Sox | 1st |
| 2017 | Astros | 17th |
| 2016 | Cubs | 5th |
| 2015 | Royals | 13th |
| 2014 | Giants | 7th |
More MLB from Sports Illustrated
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- Why a Pete Crow-Armstrong Contract Extension Was a No-Brainer for the Cubs
- MLB’s ABS Challenge System Has Little-Known Wrinkle That May Trip Up Hitters
This article was originally published on www.si.com as Highest Major League Baseball Payrolls and Player Salaries for 2026 Season.
