Average Salaries for MLB Players Increase in 2022

A new labor deal and a booming free-agent market raised the average Major League Baseball salary by 5.9% as of Opening Day.

MLB players make an average of $4.41 million, per an analysis by the Associated Press, up from $4.17 million in 2021.

Players saw increases at the top and bottom as the league and its players union reached a new collective bargaining agreement after an acrimonious 99-day lockout.

• The minimum salary grew to $700,000 from $570,500 in the new CBA.
• The average would be a record $4.68 million after accounting for a $50 million bonus pool for high-performing, pre-arbitration players and subtracting an additional two players per team — due to a one-time roster expansion through May 1 — who are mostly on minimum salaries.
• Median salary rose $50,000 to $1.2 million but was still well below the $1.4 million median of 2019 and the 2015 record of $1.65 million.

Parity Disparity

With no minimum or maximum salary, MLB team payrolls run from the Oakland A’s $48 million to the Los Angeles Dodgers $285 million.

The 100 highest-paid players are making 48.9% of all salaries, down from 52.4% last year. New York Mets ace Max Scherzer set the record for annual salary at $43.3 million with his offseason deal.