NEW YORK — Even before the first pitch of the 2015 season is thrown, an eye-popping baseball record will be set.
The average salary when opening-day rosters are finalized Sunday will break the $4 million benchmark for the first time, according to a study of all major-league contracts by The Associated Press. Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw tops players at $31 million, and Los Angeles projects to open the season with a payroll at about $270 million, easily a record.
The Rockies, with a payroll ranked 20th at $102 million, have three players in the top 150, with shortstop Troy Tulowitzki tied for 25th at $20 million, followed by outfielder Carlos Gonzalez at No. 43 ($16.4 million) and pitcher Jorge De La Rosa tied for 78th at $12.5 million.
Fueled by the largest two-year growth in more than a decade, the average salary projects to be about $4.25 million, according to the AP study, with the final figure depending on how many players are put on the disabled list before the first pitch is thrown. That is up from $3.95 million on the first day of last season and $3.65 million when 2013 began.
“MLB’s revenues have grown in recent years, with the increase in national and local broadcast rights fees being a primary contributor,” said Dan Halem, MLB’s chief legal officer. “It is expected that player compensation will increase as club revenues increase.”
Baseball’s average was approximately $50,000 in 1976, the last year before free agency.
In a $9 billion industry propelled by ballpark luxury suites and premium tickets, regional sports networks and streaming video, more than half the major leaguers are millionaires.
The average broke the $1 million mark in 1992, topped $2 million in 2001 and reached $3 million in 2008.
By comparison, the Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers has risen slightly less than fourfold since the first class of free agents started negotiations in November 1976. And the average U.S. wage in 2013, the latest figure available, was $44,888, according to the Social Security Administration, up 1.28 percent from 2012.
