MLB doesn’t have a hard cap, but the Competitive Balance Tax (CBT) is there to somewhat limit how much teams can spend.
Every year, there is a CBT number and clubs with payrolls that exceed it will have to pay taxes, which are divided in several tiers.
For the 2023 season, the CBT is set at $233 million.
There’s also a surcharge threshold for MLB organizations that exceed the base threshold by $20 million or more.
There is a 12 percent surcharge if the payroll exceeds the base threshold by a number between $20 million and $40 million.
Between $40 million and $60 million, there is a 42.5 percent surcharge for first year and a 45 percent for each consecutive year after that.
Last but not least, there is a 60 percent surcharge if the payroll exceeds the threshold by $60 million or more.
The Mets Will Blow Past $300 Million In Payroll
That last one is known as the Steve Cohen tax.
Cohen, as you know, is the owner of the New York Mets, and he probably doesn’t care about any taxes and surcharges.
Here is a look at how the MLB payrolls look as of Wednesday:
“Current Projected Opening Day #MLB Tax Payrolls 1. #Mets, $300M 2. #Yankees, $261M 3. #Phillies, $241M 4. #Braves, $225M 5. #Angels, $212M 6. #Padres, $205M 7. #BlueJays, $200M 8. #Rangers, $199M 9. #Astros, $197M 10. #Dodgers, $189M,” Spotrac tweeted.
Current Projected Opening Day #MLB Tax Payrolls
1. #Mets, $300M
2. #Yankees, $261M
3. #Phillies, $241M
4. #Braves, $225M
5. #Angels, $212M
6. #Padres, $205M
7. #BlueJays, $200M
8. #Rangers, $199M
9. #Astros, $197M
10. #Dodgers, $189M— Spotrac (@spotrac) December 7, 2022
After signing Justin Verlander and Jose Quintana this week, the Mets blew past the last surcharge tier.
Cohen has proved that he wants the Mets to win the World Series and isn’t afraid of spending any amount.
More impressively, we can say that they aren’t done adding to the roster in Queens.
They still have a couple moves to make, and their payroll will easily exceed $300 million when all is said and done.
NEXT: The Mets Add Another Pitcher To Bolster The Bullpen