For the first time in franchise history, the Braves were a luxury tax team in 2023. Yesterday, the penalties were released for the eight teams that exceeded the luxury tax threshold, and the Braves were assessed about $3.2 million.
BREAKING: Eight clubs broke the Luxury Tax threshold in 2023. Following are tax outlay amounts via @ronaldblum of the @AP
Mets $100,781,932
Padres $39,693,954
Yankees 32,399,366
Dodgers $19,423,297
Phillies $6,977,345
Blue Jays $5,535,492
Braves $3,159,536
Rangers $1,827,142— Maury Brown (@BizballMaury) December 23, 2023
Some of these are quite comical, given the Mets elected to rebuild in the middle of the season, and the Padres and Yankees weren’t much better. However, the other five teams made the postseason, with the Rangers winning their first World Series in franchise history.
As I said at the beginning of the piece, this is the first time the Braves have ever been penalized for exceeding the luxury tax threshold. However, it won’t be the last, and we can expect the fines to only increase. As things stand right now, the Braves have a luxury tax payroll of $269 million. That’s already $25 million higher than last year and nearly puts them past the third luxury tax threshold at $277 million.
There was a point not long ago when Braves fans had a warranted gripe with Liberty Media and their lack of spending. That’s no longer the case. Liberty Media has promised increased spending year over year, and they have delivered. The Braves are once again on track to having one of the highest payrolls in baseball, and there are no signs that they are going to slow down.
—
Photo: David J. Griffin/Icon Sportswire
You must log in to post a comment.