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AP Newsbreak: AP study projects average MLB salary tops $4M

FILE - In this March 15, 2015, file photo, Los Angeles Dodgers starting pitcher Clayton Kershaw works against the Seattle Mariners in the first inning of a spring training baseball game in Peoria, Ariz. The average salary when opening-day rosters are finalized Sunday will break the $4 million barrier 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 leads teams at nearly $273 million, easily a record.(AP Photo/Lenny Ignelzi, File)
FILE - In this March 15, 2015, file photo, Los Angeles Dodgers starting pitcher Clayton Kershaw works against the Seattle Mariners in the first inning of a spring training baseball game in Peoria, Ariz. The average salary when opening-day rosters are finalized Sunday will break the $4 million barrier 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 leads teams at nearly $273 million, easily a record.(AP Photo/Lenny Ignelzi, File) FILE - In this March 15, 2015, file photo, Los Angeles Dodgers starting pitcher Clayton Kershaw works against the Seattle Mariners in the first inning of a spring training baseball game in Peoria, Ariz. The average salary when opening-day rosters are finalized Sunday will break the $4 million barrier 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 leads teams at nearly $273 million, easily a record.(AP Photo/Lenny Ignelzi, File)

By Associated Press 4 min read

NEW YORK (AP) – 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 barrier 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.

“We’re enjoying a tremendously bountiful season in baseball,” said Toronto pitcher R.A. Dickey, the 2012 NL Cy Young Award winner with the New York Mets.

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.”