A new securities filing by Braves owner Liberty Media tallied the amount of guaranteed contracts on the team’s books.
The tally: As of Dec. 31, the Braves owed players $77 million in guaranteed salaries for the 2016 season, $54 million for 2017, $49 million for 2018, $40 million for 2019 and $53 million thereafter, according to Liberty’s filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission on Friday.
The 2016 figure shows that this season's payroll is positioned to be at the low end of the MLB scale — currently fourth lowest among the 30 teams, according to the payroll tracker at spotrac.com. The 2017 figure means the Braves would have to go on quite a spending spree if the payroll is going to rise as high as many had originally expected when the team moves to SunTrust Park next year.
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When the Braves signed Freddie Freeman, Andrelton Simmons, Craig Kimbrel and Julio Teheran to long-term contracts totaling a guaranteed $267.4 million several months after the November 2013 announcement of the new stadium, those contracts were back-loaded so that the four players would make a combined $193.8 million after the new stadium opens. But Simmons and Kimbrel had a combined $87 million remaining on their contracts when they were traded, including $61 million that would have been due after SunTrust Park is scheduled to open.
In last week’s SEC filing, Liberty Media credited “lower player salaries and game operating costs” for improving the Braves’ operating income last year, despite a $7 million drop in revenue because of lower attendance and reduced concessions sales.
