Mets extend streak as top-spending MLB team

NEW YORK — The Mets led the major leagues in spending for the third straight season in 2024 and have totaled $1.36 billion in payroll and luxury tax over four years under owner Steve Cohen, exceeding what the Marlins, Pirates and Rays each have spent on players in the past 21 seasons.

The Mets established a $333.3 million regular payroll record, according to figures finalized by Major League Baseball this week and obtained by The Associated Press. That topped the previous mark of $319.5 million set by the Mets in 2023, when they became the first team to exceed $300 million.

New York totaled $430.4 million last year in payroll and luxury tax ($97.1 million) to set a cost record. The Mets paid $420 million the year before, including a $100.8 million tax.

Since Cohen bought the team from the Fred Wilpon and Saul Katz families in November 2020, the Mets have totaled $1.13 billion in payroll and $228.7 million in tax. And that was before he lavished a record 15-year, $765 million contract on outfielder Juan Soto that starts this season.

“One thing I’ve learned a long time ago, if you want something that’s amazing, it’s going to be uncomfortable,” Cohen said in December.

New York’s spending on major league players from 2021 to 2024 was just above what the payrolls from 2004 to 2024 totaled for the Marlins ($1.34 billion), Pirates ($1.32 billion) and Rays ($1.32 billion).

By comparison, the Athletics have spent a low of $269 million over the past four seasons and the Pirates $271 million.

Total spending, based on regular payrolls, rose 1.8% to $5.158 billion from $5.065 billion last year and has increased 27.3% in three seasons under the current labor contract from $4.051 billion in 2021.

The Mets became the first team to lead in payrolls in three straight seasons since the Los Angeles Dodgers from 2014 to 2017.

The New York Yankees were second among regular payrolls at a team-record $310.9 million. The World Series champion Dodgers were third at $270.8 million and the Philadelphia Phillies fourth at $249.1 million.

Ten teams topped $200 million, down from a record 11 in 2023. A record-low four teams were below $100 million, a decrease from six in 2023.

Because $68 million of his $700 million salary is deferred until from 2034 through 2043, Shohei Ohtani totals $28.2 million in salary toward payroll plus $1.03 million in non-cash compensation.

The Athletics had the lowest payroll at $66.5 million in their final season before moving to Sacramento for at least three seasons before a planned shift to Las Vegas. The Pirates were 29th at $87.3 million. Those two clubs, along with the Rays, are the only teams never to finish with a $100 million payroll.

The 12 teams that reached the postseason combined to spend $2.37 billion, 46% of payrolls, including $1.02 billion (19.9%) for the four teams in the league championship series. The Dodgers and American League champion Yankees combined for $644.2 million (12.5%).

Adding payroll and luxury tax, the four LCS teams combined for 23.5% of total spending ($1.29 billion of $5.47 billion) and the Yankees and Dodgers for 13.7% ($747.3 million).

The Arizona Diamondbacks raised payroll the most, by $48 million to $177 million after winning the National League pennant, and the Chicago Cubs were the second-most, by $34 million to $230 million.

The San Diego Padres cut payroll by $85 million to $172 million in 2024 following the death of owner Peter Seidler. The Los Angeles Angels dropped $51 million to $179 million and the Minnesota Twins by $34 million to $133 million.

Regular payrolls are based on 2024 salaries, earned bonuses and prorated shares of signing bonuses and non-cash compensation for 40-man rosters. Deferred salaries and bonus payments are discounted to present-day values, and termination pay, option buyouts and cash transactions among clubs are accounted for.

MLB calculated the average salary at $4,592,147, while the players’ association, using a slightly different methodology, pegged it at $4,655,366.

Luxury tax is based on payrolls with average annual values that include benefits and the pre-arbitration bonus pool.