Pro baseball showcases some of the best paid athletes in the world.
The average salary paid to professional baseball players has grown considerably since 1876 when Major League Baseball was founded. Gradual increases in the average salary paid to pro baseball players occurred during much of the 20th century, but it was the institution of free agency in 1975 that sent salaries higher than could have ever been imagined before. As a result, professional baseball players are earning more in 2010 than at any other time in the history of professional baseball.
History
In May 2010, a professional baseball player earned an average salary of $3.3 million per season, a far cry from the $3,054 average in 1876 when MLB was formed. Average salaries increased early in the league's history, rising to $6,523 per season in the early 1900s, but decreased to $2,307 during the 1910s before beginning an eventual climb to the levels of today.
Free Agency
Prior to 1975, professional baseball players were bound to one team for the duration of their careers unless they were traded or released. Arbitrator Peter Seitz abolished this practice on Dec. 23, 1975, opening the way for players to negotiate their services with other teams. Salaries began to rise immediately as the average salary in 1976 jumped from $51,501 to $76,066 in 1977. Players whose contracts had expired and had at least six seasons of MLB experience were eligible for free agency.
Extremes
Professional baseball has always had its highest-paid players who earned considerably more than the league average of their time. In 1892, for instance, Boston's King Kelly earned $12,500 per season, considerably higher than the $3,054 league average. Legendary players such as Honus Wagner ($10,000), Ty Cobb ($80,000), Babe Ruth ($84,098), Jo DiMaggio ($100,000), Ted Williams ($125,000), Mike Schmidt ($561,500), Albert Belle ($12 million) and Alex Rodriguez ($22 million) each earned salaries nearly 10 times the league average of their day.
Comparisons
Major league baseball players are among the highest-paid professional athletes in the world. Of the four major professional sports leagues---NFL, NBA, MLB and NHL---professional baseball ranks second in terms of average salaries with a $3.3 million per season price tag. The NBA leads the way with an average salary of $5.4 million per season while the NHL ($2.5 million per season) and NFL ($770,000 per season) rank third and fourth, respectively.
Variances
Major league baseball players have not seen a decrease in their average salary since 2004 when the average salary dipped slightly from $2.56 million in 2003 to $2.49 million in 2004. The largest drop off in the average major league baseball salary since 1990 came following the strike-shortened 1994 season when the league average dipped from $1.2 million in 1994 to $1.1 million in 1995. Since the beginning of free agency in 1975, major league salaries have increased approximately 6,400 percent.
Tags: average salary, baseball players, league average, million season, free agency
