MLB payrolls 2026: Why Dodgers don't have the highest in baseball

SAN FRANCISCO — The Los Angeles Dodgers , the two-time World Series champions, the team that is drawing all of the hatred, the team responsible for calls for a salary cap, wishes everyone would stop and just look at the numbers. Yes, they project to open the season with a $322. 4 million payroll, based on the MLB Labor Relations Department's present-day salary calculations on 40-man rosters obtained this week by USA TODAY Sports.

But guess what? Due to the Dodgers' heavy use of deferred contracts and signing bonuses, the team's 2026 payroll is dwarfed by the New York Mets , whose 40-man payroll is projected at $357. 6 million (in MLB's calculated present-day value).

That's a team that didn’t even make the playoffs last year and last won a World Series in 1986. The New York Yankees , who last won the World Series in 2009, are the third team that projects to open the season with a payroll exceeding $300 million. Why, there are four teams this season who will open the season with payrolls within $50 million of the Dodgers: the Yankees ($301 million), Philadelphia Phillies ($283.

6 million) and Toronto Blue Jays ($278. 9 million). There are a record 11 teams who are projected to open the season with payrolls of at least $200 million, according to the labor relations salary figures submitted to teams.