It is the first full week of MLB baseball! How do you think spending will affect team success this season?

Answer:

1. New York Mets: $302 million
2. New York Yankees: $294 million
3. Houston Astros: $237 million
4. Philadelphia Phillies: $236 million
5. Atlanta Braves: $225 million

Questions:

1. What factors do you think affect the amount of money a team can spend on its players?
2. How might the payroll of a team affect its success in Major League Baseball? Look up past World Series winners to see if there is any correlation.
3. What positions/types of players do you think deserve to take home the largest salaries from the payroll? Why?
4. Think about how might you impact the payroll of MLB teams:
   • Do you or your friends spend money to support your favorite team?
   • What types of things can you/do you purchase?
   • Do you/your family pay to watch your favorite team on TV or at the ballpark?

Click here for the ready-to-go slides for this Question of the Day that you can use in your classroom.

Behind the numbers (BetMGM):

"Baseball is an expensive business, and there often seems to be no end to the amount of money big-market owners will shell out to see top players on their teams.

As mega-contracts become more common across the league and payroll sizes continue to grow, some teams see the annual luxury tax threshold as more of a mere inconvenience than any real deterrent to spending.

As of March 2024, the average total payroll across all MLB teams in 2024 is $153,678,550."

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Want to see your team on the list? View the 2024 payroll of all 32 MLB teams.

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About the Author

Mason Butts

After graduating from UCLA with a Master's in Education, Mason spent 5 years as a science educator in a South Los Angeles public high school. He is committed to supporting the holistic growth of all students and empowering them to live a life of relational, academic, and financial success. Now settled in the Bay Area, Mason enjoys facilitating professional developments and partnering with educators as they prepare students for a bright financial future. When Mason is not building curriculum or planning a training, he can be found cycling, trying new foods, and exploring the outdoors.