Across baseball in 2021, the overall payroll amounts for all 30 teams decreased by 4% compared to 2019. The total amount was near where it was in 2015.
The Top Five teams in payrolls were the Dodgers, Padres, Phillies, Yankees and Mets. The Braves were 14th. While the teams at the top of the list are not surprising, it is a bit eye opening that only the Dodgers made the MLB Playoffs among the teams with the five largest payrolls.
Of course, it will be interesting to see how the MLB Lockout may impact total payrolls this upcoming season.