2009 payroll

[cheezscott]

Any ideas guess where we think it'll be? Also is the payroll comprised of the 40 man or the 25 man rosters???

[trwi7]

Probably the $80-90 million range again. Payroll is the 25 man roster.

[And That]

Major league payroll is determined by any players a team is paying a major league salary to, be it on the 25-man roster, 40-man roster, or someone not currently in the organization that they still owe money to.

 

I suspect the final payroll number will be lower if CC is not signed, perhaps around $80 mil again.

[monty57]

Without CC, I'd guess we'll be in the $75-$80MM range. Mark A. admitted they would lose money last season at $90MM, and has said they'd only "extend the budget" to sign CC. I'd assume a breakeven point somewhere in the $85-88MM range. Assuming they'd like to make some profit, and I'm sure they want to leave some wiggle room for mid-season acquisitions, I don't think it likely they'll start the season over $80MM unless they somehow sign CC, which at this point only seems likely if he really, really hates New York.

 

With Torres retiring, I would guess we're somewhere around $60MM right now, and we need a 3B, three pitchers and bench help (possibly more if players like Nelson, Dillard and Stetter aren't on the 25 next year). That means that barring trades, Melvin will have around $15-20MM to fill those spots.

[PlayerHader]

Does anyone else really doubt that the organization finished in the red after last year? That just doesn't seem right that at a $90 million payroll they aren't able to make a dime with the attendance numbers, two playoff games, and general hysteria that came with CC and the playoffs.

 

I think Mark A might have been fidgeting the numbers a bit on us.

[Invader3K]

Well, as was brought up, it's not like anyone outside baseball gets to see the books...MLB owners have always been notorious for shuffling the numbers to reflect whatever they want.

[PeaveyFury]

With the way anything and everything related to Brewers' playoff merchandise flew off the shelves in October, I find it hard to believe that they lost a dime.

 

I think they can do 90 million again without a doubt. If the team performs well early (unlike last year), there's still a ton of room for attendance to grow still.

[joepepsi]

I think most teams make money. Even the Pirates and Royals.

[fondybrewfan]

Don't the Marlins just rake in cash?

 

I wonder how soon we will see a $100M payroll? I could see it within 5 years for sure, it is probably inevitable if the Crew continues to be successful.

[And That]

If the Brewers are very competitive immediately, say 84+ wins with 3 million in attendance, I could see $100 million opening day payroll for the 2011 season easily, if not the 2010 season.

[JohnBriggs12]

If the Brewers are very competitive immediately, say 84+ wins with 3 million in attendance, I could see $100 million opening day payroll for the 2011 season easily, if not the 2010 season.

The economy is going to cost them in the short term. I'm surprised it's not being talked about more. Those people that buy season ticket packages and expecting to pay for them by getting a big premium reselling them online are going to find that the market is going to be much softer than in the past.

[TooLiveBrew]

Don't the Marlins just rake in cash?

 

Their payroll is kept so low (2008: $21.8M), it really wouldn't surprise me if that's the case. For the Crew, I certainly agree with the guesstimates in the $85M-ish range.

[monty57]

With luxury taxes and revenue sharing, teams like the Marlins make more in revenue sharing than they pay in salary, so yes, they make money. I don't think I want the Brewers to go that route, however, as it would require them to fire sale all their talent every 4-6 years, and you get to watch a AAA team while they rebuild.

 

As far as Mark A., I think he's a pretty straight shooter, and he knows a lot about finances. He said they'd lose money even if they went to the World Series, so I believe him. Now, they may have lost a couple of million, which the ownership group could easily afford, but that doesn't mean they want to do it every year.

 

The Brewers have done a wonderful job increasing revenue since Mark A. took over, but they may have ridden that horse as far as it can take them. My guess is that the next big bump in Brewers' payroll will come whenever the current TV contract is over and they are able to get a more favorable deal. That could add a lot of money into the Brewers' coffers, which Mark A. has shown he is willing to put onto the field.