MLB Financials by Year

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1997 Baseball Payrolls

This is a team-by-team payroll listings for the 1997 season. The league per-player average was $1,338,625 and the average team payroll was $40,226,141. You can also view figures for 1996 or 1998 and individual player salaries here. Other financial information is available for many seasons using the tool on the right.

1997 PAYROLLS 1997 PAYROLLS 1996/1998 RANK TEAM AVERAGE TOTAL 1 New York Yankees  $2,303,437   $73,389,577  2 Baltimore Orioles  $2,205,890   $64,611,399  3 Cleveland Indians  $1,912,062   $58,865,056  4 Atlanta Braves  $1,817,543   $53,111,000  5 Florida Marlins  $1,793,766   $52,465,000  6 St. Louis Cardinals  $1,552,695   $50,224,167  7 Toronto Blue Jays  $1,461,997   $48,964,833  8 Los Angeles Dodgers  $1,734,862   $48,472,321  9 California Angels  $1,201,291   $46,684,364  10 Seattle Mariners  $1,484,311   $46,298,970  11 Colorado Rockies  $1,439,720   $46,093,301  12 Texas Rangers  $1,417,055   $44,591,013  13 San Francisco Giants  $1,657,232   $43,067,378  14 Chicago White Sox  $1,695,296   $41,849,500  15 Boston Red Sox  $1,399,491   $40,611,351  16 Cincinnati Reds  $1,295,491   $38,206,000  17 New York Mets  $1,364,202   $34,985,330  18 Houston Astros  $1,164,686   $34,932,500  19 Kansas City Royals  $1,167,200   $33,868,149  20 San Diego Padres  $1,279,053   $32,765,172  21 Minnesota Twins  $1,259,514   $32,197,500  22 Philadelphia Phillies  $973,275   $31,102,439  23 Chicago Cubs  $1,230,273   $30,791,000  24 Milwaukee Brewers  $886,587   $26,564,840  25 Detroit Tigers  $653,058   $20,985,500  26 Montreal Expos  $617,711   $18,010,500  27 Pittsburgh Pirates  $380,443   $15,124,166  28 Oakland Athletics  $392,400   $12,879,889

Sources: Associated Press Novemberm 8, 1999 and December 8, 1999.

Baseball Economics sources/bibliography:
Business of Baseball, The by Albert Powers
Baseball, Inc.: The National Pastime As Big Business by Frank P. Jozsa Jr.
Baseball and Billions: A Probing Look Inside the Big Business of Our National Pastime by Andrew Zimbalist
Built to Win: Inside Stories and Leadership Strategies from Baseball's Winningest GM by John Schuerholz
Free Agency and Competitive Balance in Baseball by Ronald W. Cox
The Formation, Sometimes Absorption and Mostly Inevitable Demise of 18 Professional Baseball Organizations, 1871 to Present by David Pietrusza.
Getting in the Game: Inside Baseball's Winter Meetings by Josh Lewin
State of Baseball Management: Decision-Making in the Best and Worst Teams, 1993-2003 by Scott Barzilla
In the Best Interests of Baseball? The Revolutionary Reign of Bud Selig by Andrew Zimbalist
May the Best Team Win: Baseball Economics and Public Policy, by Andrew Zimbalist
The Inside Pitch ... and More: Baseball's Business and the Public Trust by Gene A. Budig
Early Innings: A Documentary History of Baseball, 1825-1908 by Dean A. Sullivan.
Middle Innings: A Documentary History of Baseball, 1900-1948 by Dean A. Sullivan.
Late Innings: A Documentary History of Baseball 1945-1972 by Dean A. Sullivan
Total Baseball: The Ultimate Baseball Encyclopedia by John Thorn, et al.