MLB team payrolls for 2025 from highest to lowest

Jazz Chisholm explains how he used video games to get over Game 1 loss to Red Sox

Yankees infielder Jazz Chisholm tells reporters how he cleared his mind after Game 1 loss to Red Sox by beating someone in the video game MLB The Show.

Sports Pulse

The New York Mets had MLB’s largest 2025 payroll on opening day, according to MLB’s present-day calculations obtained by USA TODAY Sports.

The Los Angeles Dodgers, thanks largely to Shohei Ohtani’s heavily-deferred $700 million contract, had the second-highest. Ohtani is deferring $68 million of his $70 million annual salary, lowering his present-day value.

The figures, compiled by USA TODAY, are calculated by the MLB Labor Relations Department of the present-day value of contracts – including deferrals and signing bonuses – and distributed to all teams are intended to reflect the cash obligations in any given year.

Here’s a look at the team-by-team payrolls, based on opening day rosters plus the injured and restricted lists.

2025 MLB payrolls

(On opening day 2025, in present-day value as calculated by MLB)

1. New York Mets, $323,099,999
2. Los Angeles Dodgers, $321,287,291
3. New York Yankees, $293,488,972
4. Philadelphia Phillies, $284,210,820
5. Toronto Blue Jays, $239,642,532
6. Texas Rangers, $220,541,332
7. Houston Astros, $220,217,813
8. Atlanta Braves, $214,836,398
9. San Diego Padres,  208,909,333
10. Chicago Cubs, $196,288,250
11. Arizona Diamondbacks, $195,294,235
12. Boston Red Sox, $193,629,093
13. Los Angeles Angels, $190,508,096
14. San Francisco Giants, $173,019,524
15. Baltimore Orioles, $162,314,278
16. Seattle Mariners,  $146,793,414
17. Detroit Tigers, $143,193,033
18. Minnesota Twins, $142,762,022
19. St. Louis Cardinals, $141,455,581
20. Kansas City Royals, $130,001,503
21. Colorado Rockies, $120,693,976
22. Cincinnati Reds, $115,466,833
23. Milwaukee Brewers, $115,136,227
24. Washington Nationals, $107,653,761
25. Cleveland Guardians, $100,522,729
26. Pittsburgh Pirates, $87,645,246
27. Chicago White Sox, $82,279,825
28. Tampa Bay Rays, $79,216,312
29. Athletics, $73,118,981
30. Miami Marlins, $67,412,619