USA Today has compiled the Opening Day payrolls for all 30 teams and to the surprise of no one the Yankees lead the way by a wide margin, as their $202 million payroll is $30 million higher than the second-ranked Phillies and $40 million more than the next-closest AL team, the Red Sox.
Those three teams have the only payrolls above $150 million, but at the opposite end of the spectrum the Royals, Pirates, Diamondbacks, Indians, and Padres are each under $50 million in total salaries.
MLB’s lowest payroll belongs to the Royals at $36 million, which is just 18 percent of the Yankees’ total and only slightly more than the $31 million New York will be paying Alex Rodriguez alone this season. The average Royals player makes $1.3 million, while the average Yankees player makes $6.8 million.
Add it all up and the average Opening Day payroll is $92.8 million. To put that into some context, consider that in 2000 the Yankees had MLB’s highest payroll at $92.9 million.
