The Texas Rangers’ first World Series victory in franchise history was the result of an expensive investment in the team’s success — and those highly paid players are going to add to their coffers.
Major League Baseball has a policy that allows players to receive bonuses from Postseason gate receipts based on how far their team advanced into October.
The players’ pool of bonuses is derived from 60% of gate receipts for the first two games of the Wild Card Series, 60% for the first three games of the Division Series, 60% for the first four games of the Division Series, and 60% for the first four games of the World Series. Owners keep 100% of the gate receipts for any series that goes beyond the minimum number of games, per former MLB player Jacob Turner.
Teams decide how many full and partial shares to award, usually based on service time. For example, team members who were part of the season for only a portion typically receive a partial share. In contrast, those in the playoff roster generally receive a full share.
The teams also determine how many full and partial shares to distribute to coaches and other team staff in closed-door meetings.
MLB will announce the full total for the players’ pool and shares per player later. Still, Rangers players could be in for a hefty payday: Last year, a full share of the Houston Astros’ World Series winnings was worth a record $516,347 from a record $107.5 million player pool (it’s worth noting that Houston awarded a league-low 59 full shares).
The 2022 record came to fruition due to extra gate revenue from the Wild Card Series, which was implemented as part of the new collective bargaining agreement.
Barring a shockingly large decrease in gate receipts, the Rangers stand to benefit most from another $100 million-plus player pool.
