BRAVES’ PAYROLL
Dan Uggla, $12,742,500*
Nick Markakis, $11,000,000
Freddie Freeman, $8,859,375
Carlos Quentin, $8,000,000*
Cameron Maybin, $7,000,000
Chris Johnson, $6,000,000
Trevor Cahill, $5,700,000**
Mike Minor (DL), $5,600,000
Jason Grilli, $4,250,000
Jonny Gomes, $4,000,000
Andrelton Simmons, $3,142,857
Alberto Callaspo, $3,000,000
A.J. Pierzynski, $2,000,000
Eric Stults, $2,000,000
Jim Johnson, $1,600,000
Kelly Johnson, $1,500,000
Julio Teheran, $1,166,666
Dian Toscano (RL), $1,100,000
Eric Young Jr., $1,000,000
Josh Outman (DL), $925,000
James Russell, $596,311*
Shelby Miller, $535,000
Luis Avilan, $530,000
Alex Wood, $520,000
Shae Simmons (DL), $508,750
Christian Bethancourt, $507,500
Brandon Cunniff, $507,500
Phil Gosselin, $507,500
Juan Jaime, $507,500
Cody Martin, $507,500
Andrew McKirahan, $507,500
Jace Peterson, $507,500
Joey Terdoslavich (DL), $507,500
Daniel Winkler (DL), $507,500
Total: $97,843,959
* Uggla was released last year and is now with the Nationals, but the Braves owe all but $507,500 of his $13.25 million salary. Quentin was designated for assignment immediately after being acquired from San Diego, but the Braves are responsible for his salary, minus whatever portion another team might pay. Russell was released in spring training, but the Braves owe him 45 days pay from what would have been a $2.425 million contract.
** Cahill’s salary is $12.2 million, but the Diamondbacks will pay $6.5 million under terms of the trade that brought him to the Braves, who are responsible for the remainder.
(DL) - On disabled list
(RL) - On restricted list
Note: Figures include prorated portions of signing bonuses and do not include possible performance bonuses.
The Braves ranked lower among Major League Baseball teams in player payroll at the start of this season than on any opening day since the 1980s.
After a barrage of deals, the Braves’ payroll has dropped to $97.8 million, which ranks 23rd among the 30 MLB teams.
The Braves haven’t ranked so low in opening-day payroll since 1989, when they were 23rd among 26 teams at the time.
They ranked 19th in payroll at the start of the 1990 and 1991 seasons, were No. 2 by 1993 and remained among baseball’s top five spenders for the rest of the 1990s and among the top 10 through 2006. When Time Warner sold the Braves to Liberty Media in 2007, the payroll ranked 13th at $89 million.
Under Liberty’s ownership, the payroll has remained in a relatively narrow range. It was near the middle of the MLB pack the past five years, ranking 14th on opening day last season at $112 million.
The Braves have said their payroll will rise when they move into their new stadium in 2017, but they haven’t said by how much.
The current $97.8 million payroll figure includes the salaries of the 25 players on the active roster, plus those on the disabled list and, significantly, those who aren’t with the team but are still owed money for this season. The Braves owe Dan Uggla and Carlos Quentin almost $21 million — more than 20 percent of the team payroll — not to play for them. Accepting Quentin’s contract from the Padres was part of price to unload Melvin Upton Jr.’s.
The Dodgers have MLB’s highest payroll this season at about $273 million. The Nationals have the highest in the National League East, $163 million, which ranks sixth overall. The seven teams with lower payrolls than the Braves are the Diamondbacks, Pirates, Indians, Athletics, Rays, Astros and Marlins. The Marlins have MLB’s lowest payroll at $68.5 million.
Across MLB, revenue has risen rapidly in recent years. Based on Liberty Media’s financial filings, the Braves’ revenue increased from $208 million in 2011 to $251 million last year.
