Average MLB player salary, 1985 to 2016
Average MLB player salary stood at $4.4M in 2016, up 2.2% on the previous period.
The average MLB salary rose from $476,299 in 1985 to $4,396,410 in 2016, a ninefold increase over 32 seasons. The series ends in 2016 because the Lahman project stopped collecting salary data after that year.
How it is measured
The figure is the mean of every player salary recorded for a season in the SABR Lahman Baseball Database (licensed CC BY-SA 3.0). Salaries were compiled from public disclosures and player association records. The window is fixed at 1985 to 2016; this page will not extend.
What the curve shows
The average dipped to $417,147 in 1986, the low of the series, during the years an arbitrator later ruled the owners had colluded against free agents. Growth resumed and compounded: the mean passed $1 million in 1992 ($1,047,521), reached $1,992,985 in 2000, $3,278,747 in 2010, and $4,396,410 in the final 2016 season.
Why does the series end in 2016?
When did the average MLB salary pass $1 million?
Why did the average fall in 1986?
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