With Aaron Judge re-signing with the New York Yankees on Wednesday, the team’s 2023 payroll went up to more than $260 million pushing them to No. 2 in MLB. Also, this makes them the only team in the history of baseball to ink three $300 million-plus deals with their current players.
According to The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal, Aaron Judge and the Yankees have agreed to a nine-year, $360 million deal. This means that Judge will make an average of $40 million per season over the course of the deal. This makes him the Yankees‘ highest-paid player earning more than pitcher Gerrit Cole, who gets $36 million a year, and slugger Giancarlo Stanton, who has a $32 million annual salary.
The New York Yankees’ 2023 payroll
Spotrac puts the Yankees’ 2023 payroll at $162,085,714 before the signing of Aaron Judge. It will be worth $202,085,714 after Judge returns. When you add up Tommy Kahnle’s two-year contract and Judge’s $40 million a year along with tax liabilities, the Yankees’ projected payroll for 2023 goes up to around $261 million. Since Cole, Judge, and Stanton make up more than half of that, they will be hoping for big years from the three of them.
With this huge payroll in 2023, the Yankees are only second to the New York Mets, who are expected to spend about $300 million on their players’ salaries.
| ACTIVE PLAYERS (41) | AGE | POS. | STATUS | WAIVER OPTIONS | BASE SALARY | SIGNING BONUS | PAYROLL SALARY | ADJ. SALARY | PAYROLL % | LUX. TAX SALARY |
| Aaron Judge | 31 | RF | Vet | n/a | $40,000,000 | – | $40,000,000 | $40,000,000 | 19.25 | 40,000,000 |
| Gerrit Cole | 32 | SP | Vet | n/a | $36,000,000 | – | $36,000,000 | $36,000,000 | 17.32 | 36,000,000 |
| Giancarlo Stanton | 33 | DH | Vet | n/a | $32,000,000 | – | $32,000,000 | $32,000,000 | 15.4 | 22,000,000 |
| Josh Donaldson | 37 | 3B | Vet | n/a | $21,000,000 | – | $21,000,000 | $21,000,000 | 10.1 | 25,000,000 |
| Anthony Rizzo | 33 | 1B | Vet | n/a | $17,000,000 | – | $17,000,000 | $17,000,000 | 8.18 | 20,000,000 |
| D.J. LeMahieu | 34 | 3B | Vet | n/a | $15,000,000 | – | $15,000,000 | $15,000,000 | 7.22 | 15,000,000 |
| Luis Severino | 29 | SP | Vet | n/a | $15,000,000 | – | $15,000,000 | $15,000,000 | 7.22 | 12,250,000 |
| Aaron Hicks | 33 | CF | Vet | n/a | $10,500,000 | $285,714 | $10,785,714 | $10,785,714 | 5.19 | 10,000,000 |
| Isiah Kiner-Falefa | 28 | SS | Arb 3 | n/a | $6,000,000 | – | $6,000,000 | $6,000,000 | 2.89 | 6,000,000 |
| Tommy Kahnle | 33 | RP | Vet | n/a | $5,750,000 | – | $5,750,000 | $5,750,000 | 2.77 | 5,750,000 |
| Harrison Bader | 29 | CF | Vet | n/a | $4,700,000 | $500,000 | $5,200,000 | $5,200,000 | 2.5 | 5,200,000 |
| Lou Trivino | 31 | RP | Arb 3 (S2) | 2 | $4,100,000 | – | $4,100,000 | $4,100,000 | 1.97 | 4,100,000 |
| Gleyber Torres | 26 | 2B | Arb 3 (S2) | 2 | – | – | – | – | 0 | 0 |
| Nestor Cortes | 28 | SP | Arb 1 | 2 | – | – | – | – | 0 | 0 |
| Jose Trevino | 30 | C | Arb 1 | 1 | – | – | – | – | 0 | 0 |
| Clay Holmes | 30 | RP/CL | Arb 2 | 0 | – | – | – | – | 0 | 0 |
| Wandy Peralta | 31 | RP | Arb 4 (S2) | n/a | – | – | – | – | 0 | 0 |
| Domingo German | 30 | SP | Arb 2 | 0 | – | – | – | – | 0 | 0 |
| Jonathan Loaisiga | 28 | RP | Arb 2 | 1 | – | – | – | – | 0 | 0 |
| Kyle Higashioka | 33 | C | Arb 2 | 0 | – | – | – | – | 0 | 0 |
| Michael King | 28 | RP | Arb 1 | 2 | – | – | – | – | 0 | 0 |
| Lucas Luetge | 36 | RP | Arb 2 | 0 | – | – | – | – | 0 | 0 |
| Jimmy Cordero | 31 | RP | Arb 1 (S2) | 1 | – | – | – | – | 0 | 0 |
| Frankie Montas | 30 | SP | Arb 3 | n/a | – | – | – | – | 0 | 0 |
| Albert Abreu | 27 | RP | Pre-Arb | 0 | – | – | – | – | 0 | 0 |
| Jhony Brito | 25 | SP | Pre-Arb | 3 | – | – | – | – | 0 | 0 |
| Oswaldo Cabrera | 24 | 2B | Pre-Arb | 2 | – | – | – | – | 0 | 0 |
| Scott Effross | 29 | RP | Pre-Arb | 3 | – | – | – | – | 0 | 0 |
| Junior Fernandez | 26 | RP | Pre-Arb | 0 | – | – | – | – | 0 | 0 |
| Estevan Florial | 25 | OF | Pre-Arb | 0 | – | – | – | – | 0 | 0 |
| Deivi Garcia | 24 | RP | Pre-Arb | 0 | – | – | – | – | 0 | 0 |
| Luis Gil | 25 | SP | Pre-Arb | 0 | – | – | – | – | 0 | 0 |
| Yoendrys Gomez | 23 | SP | Pre-Arb | 1 | – | – | – | – | 0 | 0 |
| Matt Krook | 28 | SP | Pre-Arb | 3 | – | – | – | – | 0 | 0 |
| Ron Marinaccio | 28 | RP | Pre-Arb | 2 | – | – | – | – | 0 | 0 |
| Oswald Peraza | 23 | SS | Pre-Arb | 1 | – | – | – | – | 0 | 0 |
| Everson Pereira | 22 | OF | Pre-Arb | 2 | – | – | – | – | 0 | 0 |
| Ben Rortvedt | 25 | C | Pre-Arb | 1 | – | – | – | – | 0 | 0 |
| Clarke Schmidt | 27 | SP | Pre-Arb | 1 | – | – | – | – | 0 | 0 |
| Randy Vasquez | 24 | SS | Pre-Arb | 3 | – | – | – | – | 0 | 0 |
| Greg Weissert | 28 | RP | Pre-Arb | 3 | – | – | – | – | 0 | 0 |
Aaron Judge’s $40 million a year is 19% of the Yankees’ payroll for the 2023 season. Gerrit Cole, their most important starting pitcher, makes the second most money that accounts for 17% of the Yankees’ payroll. Cole has a nine-year contract with the New York Yankees. In 2023, he will be in the fourth year of the deal and will make $36 million. Giancarlo Stanton is third, and his $32 million annual salary is 15% of the total team payroll. The Miami Marlins won’t start giving the Yankees offset money because they took over his huge contract until 2026.
Josh Donaldson, who plays third base, is the fourth Yankees player to make more than $20 million in 2023. He accounts for 10% of the Yankees’ payroll. He and IKF came to Yankee Stadium last season after Gary Sanchez was traded to the Twins. Donaldson only hit .222 and had 15 home runs and 62 RBIs. However, the Yankees still have to pay him $21 million in 2023. He could be traded to reduce the wage bill.
Calculating the Yankees’ payroll of $261 million in 2023
| PAYROLL TYPE | BASE SALARY | SIGNING BONUS | INCENTIVES | TOTAL SALARY | TOTAL ADJ. SALARY |
| Active Payroll | $207,050,000 | $785,714 | – | $207,835,714 | $207,835,714 |
| Est. Arbitration Salaries | – | – | – | – | $35,394,899 |
| Est. Pre-Arbitration Salaries | – | – | – | – | $4,770,000 |
| Projected Total Payroll | – | – | – | – | $248,000,613 |
| PAYROLL TYPE | TOTAL |
| Active AAV/Payroll | $201,300,000 |
| Est. Arbitration AAV/Payroll | $35,394,899 |
| Est. Pre-Arbitration AAV/Payroll | $4,770,000 |
| Estimated Player Benefits | $16,500,000 |
| Estimated Minor League Contracts | $2,250,000 |
| Pre-Arbitration Bonus Pool Contribution | $1,666,666 |
| Proj. Tax Payroll | $221,716,666 |
| Proj. Tax Payroll (Active + Est. Arb + Est. Pre-Arb) | $261,881,565 |
The Yankees are the first MLB team with 3 players on $300M+ contracts
The Yankees just paid $360 million to keep Aaron Judge, who had become a free agent, to keep him in New York. They now have two more contracts that go past $300 million and three such gigantic contracts on the Yankees’ payroll make a baseball record.
“The Yankees are the first team in MLB history with three players on $300M+ contracts (h/t @TalkinYanks),” Front Office Sports tweeted.
The Miami Marlins gave Giancarlo Stanton a 13-year, $325 million contract in the 2014 offseason. When he wanted a trade in 2017, the Yankees took him. The Marlins agreed to send some money to the Bronx to help pay for his huge contract, so New York doesn’t have to pay the whole $325 million. In 2019, free-agent star pitcher Gerrit Cole signed a nine-year, $324 million deal with the Yankees.
The Yankees have always had the most money of any baseball team. Because of this, they’ve won more games than any other team in their history. Most likely, the Yankees will be in the playoffs late again in 2023. They can only hope that the money they put in will pay off in the end.
What do you think about the ballooning Yankees’ payroll? Leave your comment below.
