Official 2016 payroll shows $6 million slash

There are official team payroll figures in Major League Baseball, meaning the amount that actually gets paid out over the calendar year, and there are meaningless team payroll figures that get projected on opening day.

Oddly, it's the latter that draw almost all the attention.



The official figures, revealed today through the Associated Press as part of a news distribution regarding the luxury tax, showed the Pirates to rank 24th of the majors' 30 teams at $109,671,516. That represented a slashing of $6,384,020 from the 2015 team, which cost $116,055,536 and ranked 22nd in the majors.

This marks the first reversal of payroll since Bob Nutting took control of the team's ownership in 2007, but the timing is what makes it striking: The Pirates were fresh off a 98-win season that was one of the greatest in the franchise's 131-year history, and MLB's overall revenue -- from which the Pirates benefit significantly through revenue sharing checks in the tens of millions -- grew for the 14th consecutive year into the range of an unprecedented $10 billion.

The obvious root of the reduction was the July dumping of the prorated remainder of Francisco Liriano's $13 million salary to the Blue Jays, as well as two top-10 prospects, in exchange for 26-year-old pitcher Drew Hutchison.

Luxury tax payrolls, accounted by both MLB and the MLB Players Association, are based on the salaries for the entire 40-man roster, not just the 25-man, as well as bonuses, deferred payments and one universal charge -- $12,953,201 -- for all 30 teams for other benefits and personnel expenses.

Subtracting that charge, the Pirates' final payroll would be $96,718,315.

The meaningless opening day projection, which is nothing more than a collection of full-season salaries for the 25 players suiting up for that game, was $85,885,832.

The Pirates' books have not been opened since a 2010 leak to the website Deadspin, but voluminous industry sources have told DKPittsburghSports.com that they continue to turn eight-figure profits similar to those released in that leak that showed their 2007 and 2008 statements.

In the broader picture, a record six teams are required to pay the luxury tax for exceeding the $189 million payroll threshold this past season: The Dodgers will pay $31.8 million, the Yankees $27.4 million, the Red Sox $4.5 million, the Tigers $4 million, the Giants $3 million and the World Series champion Cubs, a newcomer to the club, $2.96 million.

That rise will mean nothing to the Pirates. Unlike the more often discussed luxury taxes in other professional leagues, notably the NBA, baseball's doesn't trickle down to the teams at or near the bottom. Instead, all of that cash is funneled each year to fund player benefits and MLB's Industry Growth Fund that helps promote the game overseas.

The Pirates were one of 29 teams that ratified a new collective bargaining agreement last month with the players' union. The Rays were the only team that voted against.