The average salary for a baseball player depends on several factors. The 2013 minimum salary for a rookie has been $480,000. A rookie is classified by the number of years that he’s played professional baseball (the International Baseball Federation defines a professional player as anyone who signs a contract for any form of payment in order to play baseball). If a player signs a major league contract, his salary will vary depending on whether he plays for a National League team or an American League team.
The average salary for a baseball player is around $3.5 million, but this number varies based on the athlete’s position, experience level, and the league he plays in.
For example, if you’re an outfielder in Major League Baseball (MLB), you’ll make about $4.5 million per year. Pitchers earn a bit less than $2 million per year on average. A catcher can expect to make around $2 million per season, while infielders earn about $1 million less than that.
The most lucrative leagues are ones like MLB and its Japanese counterpart NPB because they pay players well above what they would make in other leagues. The lowest-paying leagues include those in Korea and Taiwan.
What is the average salary for a baseball player
Introduction
It’s a tough job, but someone has to do it. Each year, Major League Baseball players put their bodies on the line to entertain millions of fans. As you can imagine, these players are compensated handsomely for their services. But exactly how much are they getting paid?
According to Fortune Magazine, the average Major League Baseball player salary in 2015 was $3.82 million.
According to Fortune Magazine, the average Major League Baseball player salary in 2015 was $3.82 million. This is a lot of money—it’s also misleading. The average salary is not necessarily representative of what most players make since there are many players who earn less than that amount and a few superstars who earn an enormous amount more than that figure.
However, the median salary in 2015 was just $1.26 million. That’s because of the large number of players with low incomes and a few superstars who earn an enormous amount of money.
However, the median salary in 2015 was just $1.26 million. That’s because of the large number of players with low incomes and a few superstars who earn an enormous amount of money.
The median is a better measure for most people because it accounts for both high and low earners. If you’re trying to determine what kind of job your son should go into, you want to know that there are lots of middle-class jobs out there—not just rich ones and not just poor ones.
For example, Alex Rodriguez, Mike Trout and Albert Pujols are all making over $20 million per year.
For example, Alex Rodriguez, Mike Trout and Albert Pujols are all making over $20 million per year. Even though the average salary for Major League Baseball players is higher than you might think, outlier salaries at both ends of the spectrum skew it higher than most people earn.
By contrast, many of the lowest paid players make about $500,000 a year.
By contrast, many of the lowest paid players make about $500,000 a year. For example, Tim Anderson of the Chicago White Sox is making $854,500 this season.
If you’re hoping to land a job as a professional baseball player, it might be time to consider other career options. But if you do have your heart set on playing baseball professionally and are willing to spend years in the minor leagues before reaching that goal, here are some things you should know about how much money you could be making:
- If you’re drafted by an MLB team out of high school or college and sign with them when they offer their contract offer (which will happen after all teams take turns drafting players until all 30 teams have selected 30 players), then congratulations! You’ve already made it into the world’s best baseball league—and even landed yourself one helluva deal. For example: Bryce Harper signed his first MLB contract with the Washington Nationals for $9 million when he was just 19 years old (that’s more than enough money to retire on). With the average player salary being around $3 million these days though…well…
About one-quarter of players make less than $1 million per year. Even superstars like Derek Jeter, David Ortiz and Adrian Beltre have fallen below this threshold as they’ve aged.
Before we get into the details, it’s important to understand how baseball players’ salaries work. The basic premise is this: a player’s salary is based on his performance, his age and experience level. This means that if you’re a veteran player who has had a lot of success in the past, you will earn more than someone who has little experience and hasn’t done much in their career yet.
But what exactly are these factors? Well, let’s take a look at them individually.
The average salary is higher than you might think but outlier salaries at both ends skew it higher than most people earn
In order to get a more accurate picture of what the average salary is, you have to consider that salaries are skewed by outliers at both ends. While it’s true that the average salary for professional baseball players is higher than most people might think, it’s also true that there are some players who make millions of dollars per year while others earn less than $500k per year.
The top earners in baseball earn significantly more than other athletes from other sports because of the size and scope of MLB’s revenue streams: gate receipts from games (which bring in over $100 million per team), team merchandise sales, broadcast rights fees for television broadcasts and online video services like MLBtv (paid directly by fans), ticketing sales for individual games (paid directly by fans), sponsorships with companies like Under Armour or Old Spice airing commercials during games (paid directly by these companies). In other words: if you’re an athlete making millions of dollars playing basketball or football but you’d rather play baseball instead because it pays better—then chances are your decision will be validated!
Conclusion
The average salary of a Major League Baseball player is higher than you might guess, but outlier salaries at both ends skew it higher than most people earn. The median salary is just $1.26 million, and about one-quarter of players make less than $1 million per year. If you want to see what the top MLB salaries look like, check out our list of the highest-paid players in baseball history.