No one can feel too bad for the plight of multimillionaires during the COVID-19 crisis, but the pandemic’s effects on Major League Baseball salaries are surprisingly large.
When the baseball season was shortened from 162 games to just 60, the MLB and players’ union negotiated over salaries. Because teams couldn’t count on attendance and ticket sales to bolster revenue, the talks were difficult. The sides eventually agreed to full, prorated salaries for players, meaning everyone would get 37% of their salaries for the season.
For a worker making the U.S. median income of $68,000 (in 2019), that’s $25,160. For a superstar baseball player, the difference is much, much greater.
Using salary numbers from Spotrac, GOBankingRates calculated what the top 10 highest-paid players made – and lost – with the 2020 season. See how the highest-paid fared this year.
Last updated: Oct. 26, 2020
