The Los Angeles Dodgers broke MLB spending records in 2025 with a $514.6 million total payroll and luxury tax bill, securing their second straight World Series title. Their spending has dwarfed competitors, including a budget more than seven times that of the Miami Marlins and more than the bottom six teams combined. The spending gap highlights the growing financial disparity across Major League Baseball.
The Dodgers broke the Major League Baseball spending record with a total of $515 million in payroll and luxury taxes last year en route to their second straight World Series title, according to final numbers compiled by the commissioner’s office, and Los Angeles is expected to have the highest total again in 2026.Los Angeles’ 2025 spending included payroll records of $345.3 million and taxes of $169.4 million for a total of $514.6 million. Although many contracts were discounted to reflect deferred payments, the Dodgers’ total payroll was seven times the $68.7 million payroll of the Miami Marlins, the lowest-spending team, and more than the payrolls of the bottom six clubs combined. Spending by the Dodgers last year surpassed the previous record of $430.4 million set by the 2024 New York Mets — and Los Angeles’ total did not include the $6.5 million signing bonus given to pitcher Rocky Sasaki as part of a minor league contract.The Mets and Dodgers combined to spend $948.3 million. The ratio of the five highest spending countries to the five lowest spending countries rose from 3.6 in 2021 to a record high of 4.7 last year.The Dodgers in 2025 end the Mets’ three-year run as the highest-paid bullpen, boosted by $8.5 million in bonuses earned by the retirement of ace Clayton Kershaw.Los Angeles’ total would have been about $71 million higher had it not been for the use of deferred funds on seven players that debited their salary accounts. Shohei Ohtani is worth $28.2 million because $68 million of his $70 million salary last year won’t be due until 2035.
The Mets were second in payroll at $342.1 million and with taxes total spending was $433.7 million.In the first five seasons after owner Steve Cohen bought the team, the Mets spent $1.44 billion without winning a title: $1.11 billion in payroll and $320 million in taxes.Both the Mets and Dodgers surpassed the previous record payroll set by the 2024 Mets at $333.3 million.Lois Angeles as of MLB’s Opening Day numbers is expected to top spending in 2026 with a payroll of $323.3 million for its 40-man roster and a tax of $163.7 million for a total of $487.1 million.
The Mets started with a record payroll of $358.4 million and have a projected tax of $124.1 million on spending of $482.5 million.Cleveland has the lowest Opening Day salaries for 40 men this year at $75.5 million.Total spending, based on regular salaries, rose 3.1% to $5.32 billion last year from $5.16 billion in 2024, and increased 31.3% in four seasons under the current labor contract from $4.05 billion in 2021.These numbers do not include the $50 million in pre-arbitration annual bonus pool that began in the 2022 collective bargaining agreement or benefit allocations, which are included in MLB’s luxury tax payroll.Among the luxury tax payrolls, eight teams started 2026 above the $244 million tax threshold. The Dodgers ($415.2 million), Mets ($379.2 million) and New York Yankees ($339.6 million) were followed by Toronto ($319.5 million), Philadelphia ($315.2 million), Boston ($263.7 million), San Diego ($260.1 million) and Atlanta ($247.9 million).The Chicago Cubs started $25,000 less than that and Detroit $2.5 million less than that. Salaries increase and decrease during the season due to trades and roster moves.The Yankees finished 2025 with the third-highest regular payroll at $301.5 million, followed by Philadelphia ($291.9 million), league champion Toronto ($253.1 million), Houston ($236.4 million) and the Texans ($229.9 million).Four of the top five spenders reached the playoffs, excluding the Mets, along with teams whose payrolls ranked ninth, 10th, 12th, 15th, 17th, 22nd, 23rd, and 25th.The Dodgers boosted payroll further in 2025 by $74.4 million.
Other teams with big raises in 2025 are Detroit ($61.9 million), Baltimore ($60.2 million to $165.6 million), San Diego ($45.6 million to $217.6 million), Philadelphia ($42.8 million) and Toronto ($34.7 million).Fifteen teams made payroll cuts from 2024 to 2025, led by the Chicago White Sox ($66.1 million to $87.9 million), St. Louis ($39.3 million to $139.1 million), Miami ($29.4 million to $68.8 million) and San Francisco ($28 million to $182.9 million).
The Cardinals reduced their payroll to $102.3 million on Opening Day this year, and that includes about $47.4 million attributable to trades involving three players who are no longer with the Cardinals: Nolan Arenado, Sonny Gray and Wilson Contreras.The Yankees cut payroll by $9.4 million from 2024 to 2025 and raised it to $302.8 million this year.Eleven teams surpassed $200 million in 2025, matching the record set in 2023.
Five teams were below $100 million, one more than the record low set in 2024.Last year’s regular payroll is based on 2025 salaries, bonuses earned, pro rata shares of signing bonuses and non-cash compensation for the 40-man rosters. Deferred salaries and bonus payments are discounted to present values, and severance payments, option purchases and cash transactions between clubs are accounted for.MLB calculated the average salary as of Aug. 31, the last day before active rosters expanded to 26, at $4,611,595. The players union, using a slightly different methodology, came up with $4,721,393, The luxury tax is based on payroll with average annual values that include benefits and pre-arbitration bonus pool. The players union does not believe tax payments should be used to measure the disparity because half of the tax money goes to the commissioner’s discretionary fund distributed to teams eligible to receive revenue-sharing funds that increased their local non-media revenues.
