SEATTLE — The final numbers are out. The Seattle Mariners finished the 2016 season with a payroll of $153,168,772 for its 40-man roster, according to figures obtained by The Associated Press from the Commissioner’s Office.
The Mariners’ total represents a 23.1 percent increase over their final 2015 payroll of $124,385,330. Their 2016 payroll ranked 12th among the 30 major-league clubs, up from 15th in 2015.
The Los Angeles Dodgers had the highest 2016 payroll at $254,937,968, followed by the New York Yankees at $224,461,450. Milwaukee had the smallest payroll at $65,530,828.
The Commissioner’s Office determines a club’s final payroll through salaries and pro-rated shares of signing bonuses, earned incentive bonuses, non-cash compensation, buyouts of unexercised options and cash transactions.
The formula is slightly different in determining payrolls for luxury tax purposes.
Those figures consist of the average annual values of contracts and $12,953,201 per club for benefits and extended benefits, which include items such as health and pension benefits, club medical costs, etc.
The luxury tax is a progressive tax and is assessed this year on payrolls exceeding $189 million. Six teams exceeded the threshold: the Dodgers, Yankees, Detroit, Chicago Cubs, Boston and San Francisco.
The Mariners finished with a luxury-tax payroll of $171,340,795, which was an 18.2 percent increase from their 2015 figure of $144,984,811.
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