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MLB
Chicago Cubs 2026 Luxury Tax Payroll
The Chicago Cubs 2026 tax salary table, including team tax space, and complete breakdowns of player tax salaries and bonuses.
Projected Total Tax
$243,482,380 / 8th
Est. Tax Bill
$0
2026 Active Roster
| Player (33) | Pos | Exp | Options Minor | Type | Luxury Tax | Luxury Tax % League CBT |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Bregman
1 Alex Bregman
|
3B | 9.070 | n/a |
Free Agent
|
$32,500,000 | 13.32% |
|
Swanson
2 Dansby Swanson
|
SS | 9.047 | n/a |
Free Agent
|
$25,285,714 | 10.36% |
|
Imanaga
3 Shota Imanaga
|
SP | 2.000 | n/a | $22,025,000 | 9.03% | |
|
Happ
4 Ian Happ
|
LF | 8.036 | n/a |
Extension
|
$20,333,333 | 8.33% |
|
Taillon
5 Jameson Taillon
|
SP | 9.110 | n/a |
Free Agent
|
$17,000,000 | 6.97% |
|
Suzuki
6 Seiya Suzuki
|
OF | 4.000 | 3 |
Free Agent
Foreign Professional |
$17,000,000 | 6.97% |
|
Boyd
7 Matthew Boyd
|
SP | 9.057 | n/a |
Free Agent
|
$14,500,000 | 5.94% |
|
Hoerner
8 Nico Hoerner
|
2B | 6.014 |
Extension
Arbitration |
$11,666,667 | 4.78% | |
|
Maton
9 Phil Maton
|
RP | 8.047 | n/a |
Free Agent
|
$7,250,000 | 2.97% |
|
Steele
10 Justin Steele
|
SP | 4.143 |
Arbitration 3
Super Two |
$6,775,000 | 2.78% | |
|
Rea
11 Colin Rea
|
SP | 6.057 |
Extension
|
$6,500,000 | 2.66% | |
|
Harvey
12 Hunter Harvey
|
RP | 6.047 | n/a |
Free Agent
|
$6,000,000 | 2.46% |
|
Kelly
13 Carson Kelly
|
C | 7.161 | n/a |
Free Agent
|
$5,750,000 | 2.36% |
|
Thielbar
14 Caleb Thielbar
|
RP | 7.131 | n/a |
Free Agent
|
$4,500,000 | 1.84% |
|
Cabrera
15 Edward Cabrera
|
SP | 3.147 |
Arbitration 2
Super Two |
$4,450,000 | 1.82% | |
|
Milner
16 Hoby Milner
|
RP | 6.068 | n/a |
Free Agent
|
$3,750,000 | 1.54% |
|
Assad
17 Javier Assad
|
RP | 3.027 | 2 |
Arbitration 1
|
$1,800,000 | 0.74% |
|
Webb
18 Jacob Webb
|
RP | 5.046 |
Free Agent
|
$1,500,000 | 0.61% | |
|
Austin
19 Tyler Austin
|
1B | 2.151 | 1 |
Free Agent
|
$1,250,000 | 0.51% |
|
Rolison
20 Ryan Rolison
|
RP | 2.114 | 2 |
Pre-Arbitration
|
$820,000 | 0.34% |
|
Roberts
21 Ethan Roberts
|
RP | 2.131 | 2 |
Pre-Arbitration
|
$820,000 | 0.34% |
|
Alcantara
22 Kevin Alcantara
|
OF | 0.033 | 1 |
Pre-Arbitration
|
$820,000 | 0.34% |
|
Amaya
23 Miguel Amaya
|
C | 2.130 |
Pre-Arbitration
|
$820,000 | 0.34% | |
|
Busch
24 Michael Busch
|
1B | 2.045 | 2 |
Pre-Arbitration
|
$820,000 | 0.34% |
|
Hollowell
25 Gavin Hollowell
|
RP | 0.110 | 1 |
Pre-Arbitration
|
$820,000 | 0.34% |
|
Hodge
26 Porter Hodge
|
RP | 1.117 | 3 |
Pre-Arbitration
|
$820,000 | 0.34% |
|
Crow-Armstrong
27 Pete Crow-Armstrong
|
CF | 1.170 | 2 |
Pre-Arbitration
|
$820,000 | 0.34% |
|
Wicks
28 Jordan Wicks
|
RP | 1.070 | 3 |
Pre-Arbitration
|
$820,000 | 0.34% |
|
Horton
29 Cade Horton
|
SP | 0.142 | 3 |
Pre-Arbitration
|
$820,000 | 0.34% |
|
Brown
30 Ben Brown
|
SP | 1.169 | 2 |
Pre-Arbitration
|
$820,000 | 0.34% |
|
Shaw
31 Matt Shaw
|
3B | 0.162 | 3 |
Pre-Arbitration
|
$820,000 | 0.34% |
|
Palencia
32 Daniel Palencia
|
RP | 1.154 | 2 |
Pre-Arbitration
|
$820,000 | 0.34% |
|
Ballesteros
33 Moisés Ballesteros
|
C | 0.030 | 3 |
Pre-Arbitration
|
$820,000 | 0.34% |
2026 Injured List
Salaries from players who have been placed on the injured list, still counting against the payroll.
| Player (1) | Pos | Exp | Options Minor | Type | Luxury Tax | Luxury Tax % League CBT |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Miller
1 Shelby Miller
|
RP | 10.016 | n/a |
Free Agent
|
$1,250,000 |
2026 Retained
Cap breakdowns for players who have cap retained. All count against the team's payroll.
| Player (1) | Pos | Exp | Options Minor | Type | Luxury Tax | Luxury Tax % League CBT |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Bellinger
1 Cody Bellinger
|
CF | 8.160 | n/a |
Retained
|
$2,500,000 |
2026 Minor
Salaries from players currently in the system. denotes a buried salary that counts against the payroll.
| Player (7) | Pos | Exp | Options Minor | Type | Luxury Tax | Luxury Tax % League CBT |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Dean
1 Justin Dean
|
OF | 0.052 | 3 |
Pre-Arbitration
|
$820,000 | 0.34% |
|
Little
2 Luke Little
|
RP | 1.024 | 2 |
Pre-Arbitration
|
$820,000 | 0.34% |
|
Triantos
3 James Triantos
|
3B | 3 |
Pre-Arbitration
|
$820,000 | 0.34% | |
|
Martin
4 Riley Martin
|
P | 3 |
Pre-Arbitration
|
$820,000 | 0.34% | |
|
Cowles
5 Benjamin Cowles
|
SS | 3 |
Pre-Arbitration
|
$820,000 | 0.34% | |
|
Neely
6 Jack Neely
|
RP | 0.034 | 2 |
Pre-Arbitration
|
$820,000 | 0.34% |
|
Ramirez
7 Pedro Ramirez
|
SS | 3 |
Pre-Arbitration
|
$820,000 | 0.34% |
2026 Luxury Tax Payroll Totals
Tax figures based on payroll data only. Outside revenue sources will be adjusted when available after the regular season.
| Competitive Balance Tax Threshold | $244,000,000 | |
| Guaranteed Contracts | $209,835,714 | 9th |
| Projected Pre-Arbitration Contracts | $5,740,000 | - |
| Injured Contracts | $1,250,000 | - |
| Retained Contracts | $2,500,000 | - |
| Player Benefits | $18,000,000 | - |
| Minor Buried League Contracts | $5,740,000 | - |
| Pre-Arbitration Bonus Pool Contribution | $1,666,666 | - |
| Projected Tax Payroll | $243,482,380 | - |
| Projected Competitive Balance Tax Space | $517,620 | - |
|
Projected Tax Bill
This team is currently a tax repeater at 20%.
|
$0 | - |
|
Total Allocations
This team is the combined value of projected tax payroll allocations plus the projected tax bill.
|
$243,482,380 | - |
Glossary
First-Time Payor:
- 20% for exceeding by $20M or less
- 32% for exceeding by $20M-$40M
- 62.5% for exceeding by $40M-$60M
- 80% for exceeding by $60M+
Second-Time Payor:
- 30% for exceeding by $20M or less
- 42% for exceeding by $20M-$40M
- 75% for exceeding by $40M-$60M
- 90% for exceeding by $60M+
Third-Time (or more) Payor:
- 50% for exceeding by $20M or less
- 62% for exceeding by $20M-$40M
- 95% for exceeding by $40M-$60M
- 110% for exceeding by $60M+
Teams are considered “tax repeaters” when they exceed the threshold in consecutive seasons. They revert back to First-Time status after completing one season below the threshold.
Luxury Tax salaries are based on the Average Annual Value of all 40-man roster contracts, guaranteed contracts on the 60-day IL, retained salary from trades or releases, buried contracts in the minor leagues, a player benefits stipend, and the required pre-arbitration bonus pool contribution.
Players who are acquired or have contracts purchased during the season are calculated at a rate based on the amount of league days remaining in the season. If multiple years remain on the contract at the time of acquisition, the AAV is recalculated based on the total guaranteed money remaining.
Pre-Arbitration Players (0-3 years of service) are currently estimated at $820,000 ($40k above the $780,000 MLB minimum) Arbitration Salaries (3-6 years of service) are currently estimated based on the level of service (Arbitration 1-4), and Spotrac’s current Market Valuation for that player.
Player Benefits account for insurance, room & board stipends, transportation fees, etc…
The MLB Pre-Arbitration Bonus Pool is a $50 million pot of money created in the 2022 CBA to reward top-performing young players (under three years of service time) who are not yet eligible for salary arbitration. It's funded by all 30 teams, split into award bonuses and a statistical pool based on a version of Wins Above Replacement (WAR).
