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MLB
Kansas City Royals 2026 Luxury Tax Payroll
The Kansas City Royals 2026 tax salary table, including team tax space, and complete breakdowns of player tax salaries and bonuses.
Projected Total Tax
$181,905,858 / 17th
Est. Tax Bill
$0
2026 Active Roster
| Player (40) | Pos | Exp | Options Minor | Type | Luxury Tax | Luxury Tax % League CBT |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Witt Jr.
1 Bobby Witt Jr.
|
SS | 4.000 | 3 |
Extension
Pre-Arbitration |
$26,252,525 | 10.76% |
|
Lugo
2 Seth Lugo
|
SP | 9.082 | n/a |
Extension
|
$23,000,000 | 9.43% |
|
Wacha
3 Michael Wacha
|
SP | 12.062 | n/a |
Extension
|
$17,000,000 | 6.97% |
|
Perez
4 Salvador Perez
|
C | 14.050 | n/a |
Extension
|
$12,500,000 | 5.12% |
|
Garcia
5 Maikel Garcia
|
3B | 2.168 | 1 |
Extension
Arbitration |
$11,500,000 | 4.71% |
|
Estevez
6 Carlos Estevez
|
RP | 9.022 | n/a |
Free Agent
|
$11,100,000 | 4.55% |
|
India
7 Jonathan India
|
2B | 5.000 | 3 |
Arbitration 3
|
$8,000,000 | 3.28% |
|
Strahm
8 Matt Strahm
|
RP | 9.064 | n/a |
Extension
|
$7,500,000 | 3.07% |
|
Bubic
9 Kris Bubic
|
SP | 5.135 | 1 |
Arbitration 4
|
$6,150,000 | 2.52% |
|
Pasquantino
10 Vinnie Pasquantino
|
1B | 3.101 | 3 |
Extension
Arbitration |
$5,550,000 | 2.27% |
|
Thomas
11 Lane Thomas
|
CF | 6.014 |
Free Agent
|
$5,250,000 | 2.15% | |
|
Ragans
12 Cole Ragans
|
SP | 3.029 | 2 |
Extension
Pre-Arbitration |
$4,416,667 | 1.81% |
|
Schreiber
13 John Schreiber
|
RP | 5.027 | 3 |
Arbitration 3
|
$3,715,000 | 1.52% |
|
Falter
14 Bailey Falter
|
SP | 3.138 |
Arbitration 2
Super Two |
$3,600,000 | 1.48% | |
|
Isbel
15 Kyle Isbel
|
CF | 4.043 | 2 |
Arbitration 2
|
$2,700,000 | 1.11% |
|
Erceg
16 Lucas Erceg
|
RP | 2.136 | 3 |
Pre-Arbitration
|
$2,000,000 | 0.82% |
|
Mears
17 Nick Mears
|
RP | 4.022 |
Arbitration 2
|
$1,900,000 | 0.78% | |
|
Massey
18 Michael Massey
|
2B | 3.068 | 3 |
Arbitration 1
|
$1,570,000 | 0.64% |
|
Lynch
19 Daniel Lynch
|
RP | 3.136 | 1 |
Arbitration 1
|
$1,025,000 | 0.42% |
|
Marte
20 Starling Marte
|
RF | 12.162 | n/a |
Free Agent
|
$1,000,000 | 0.41% |
|
Lange
21 Alex Lange
|
RP | 3.145 | 2 |
Free Agent
|
$900,000 | 0.37% |
|
Waters
22 Drew Waters
|
OF | 1.149 | 1 |
Pre-Arbitration
|
$820,000 | 0.34% |
|
Kolek
23 Stephen Kolek
|
SP | 1.099 | 3 |
Pre-Arbitration
|
$820,000 | 0.34% |
|
Misner
24 Kameron Misner
|
CF | 0.117 | 2 |
Pre-Arbitration
|
$820,000 | 0.34% |
|
Rave
25 John Rave
|
CF | 0.102 | 3 |
Pre-Arbitration
|
$820,000 | 0.34% |
|
Collins
26 Isaac Collins
|
OF | 1.022 | 3 |
Pre-Arbitration
|
$820,000 | 0.34% |
|
Spence
27 Mitch Spence
|
RP | 1.124 | 2 |
Pre-Arbitration
|
$820,000 | 0.34% |
|
Tolbert
28 Tyler Tolbert
|
SS | 0.144 | 3 |
Pre-Arbitration
|
$820,000 | 0.34% |
|
Loftin
29 Nick Loftin
|
SS | 1.081 | 2 |
Pre-Arbitration
|
$820,000 | 0.34% |
|
Kudrna
30 Ben Kudrna
|
P | 3 |
Pre-Arbitration
|
$820,000 | 0.34% | |
|
Jensen
31 Carter Jensen
|
C | 0.028 | 3 |
Pre-Arbitration
|
$820,000 | 0.34% |
|
Black
32 Mason Black
|
SP | 0.051 | 2 |
Pre-Arbitration
|
$820,000 | 0.34% |
|
Cerantola
33 Eric Cerantola
|
RP | 3 |
Pre-Arbitration
|
$820,000 | 0.34% | |
|
Bergert
34 Ryan Bergert
|
SP | 0.113 | 3 |
Pre-Arbitration
|
$820,000 | 0.34% |
|
Cameron
35 Noah Cameron
|
SP | 0.137 | 3 |
Pre-Arbitration
|
$820,000 | 0.34% |
|
Zobac
36 Steven Zobac
|
SP | 3 |
Pre-Arbitration
|
$820,000 | 0.34% | |
|
Cruz
37 Steven Cruz
|
RP | 1.057 | 2 |
Pre-Arbitration
|
$820,000 | 0.34% |
|
Avila
38 Luinder Avila
|
RP | 0.033 | 3 |
Pre-Arbitration
|
$820,000 | 0.34% |
|
Caglianone
39 Jac Caglianone
|
1B | 0.118 | 3 |
Pre-Arbitration
|
$820,000 | 0.34% |
|
McArthur
40 James McArthur
|
RP | 2.150 | 1 |
Arbitration 1
Super Two |
$810,000 | 0.33% |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Marsh
1 Alec Marsh
|
SP | 2.078 | 1 |
Pre-Arbitration
|
$820,000 |
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 | $155,439,192 | 17th |
| Projected Pre-Arbitration Contracts | $4,100,000 | - |
| Injured Contracts | $820,000 | - |
| Retained Contracts | $0 | - |
| Player Benefits | $18,000,000 | - |
| Minor League Contracts | $2,700,000 | - |
| Pre-Arbitration Bonus Pool Contribution | $1,666,666 | - |
| Projected Tax Payroll | $181,905,858 | - |
| Projected Competitive Balance Tax Space | $62,094,142 | - |
|
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.
|
$181,905,858 | - |
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).
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