Major League Baseball players' average salary reached a record $4.7 million in 2025, but the growth rate slowed to just 1.4%, lagging behind inflation. This comes as the league's collective bargaining agreement nears expiration, setting the stage for potentially tense negotiations. Attendance and revenue trends remain positive, bolstering the sport's financial health.
The Major League Baseball Players Association, via the Associated Press, released figures showing that player salaries rose by only 1.4% in 2025, a sharp deceleration from previous years. This marks the slowest increase since a period of declines through 2021, influenced by the COVID-19 pandemic's impact in 2020 and 2021. For context, salaries jumped 14.8% in 2022, 7.2% in 2023, and 2.9% in 2024, reflecting a post-pandemic rebound.
The average salary for the 2025 season hit a new high of $4,721,393, underscoring the overall upward trajectory despite the tempered growth. This development arrives ahead of the current collective bargaining agreement's expiration on December 1, 2025, which could lead to contentious talks between players and owners in the upcoming offseason.
On a brighter note, fan engagement continues to grow. Seventeen of the 30 MLB teams recorded year-over-year attendance increases in 2025, with the New York Mets leading at more than 10,000 additional fans per game. Eleven teams gained over 1,000 fans per game, including the Toronto Blue Jays with over 2,000, the San Francisco Giants with more than 3,000, and the Detroit Tigers with nearly 7,000. League-wide, regular-season attendance totaled 71,409,522, the highest since 2017 and marking the third consecutive year of growth.
Revenue figures for 2025 are not yet available, but Forbes reported MLB's 2024 earnings at a record $12.1 billion, up from $11.6 billion in 2023 and $10.9 billion in 2022. Analysts expect another record in 2025, providing a strong financial backdrop amid labor uncertainties.
