TAMPA — Not long ago, Hal Steinbrenner was saying a team shouldn’t need a $200 million payroll to win a championship.
That number now has increased to $300 million, and before long, he may be saying it about a $400 million payroll.
In the meantime, the Yankees’ luxury tax payroll currently sits around $307 million to $308 million — above the highest tax threshold of $301 million, which Steinbrenner insisted is not the concern.
“The concern to me is … should I really need a $300-plus million payroll to win a championship?” Steinbrenner said Friday. “Does having a huge payroll really increase my chances that much of winning a championship? I’m not sure there’s a strong correlation there.
“Having said that, we’re the New York Yankees. We know what our fans expect. We’re always going to be among the highest payrolls. That’s not going to change. Certainly didn’t change this year. We’re right there.”
The Yankees’ luxury tax payroll last season was $316 million, according to the Associated Press (though Steinbrenner said Friday it was $310 million), which was the third-highest in the majors.
The Dodgers, who beat the Yankees in the World Series, led the way at $353 million, while the Mets came in at $347 million.
One way for teams to be successful without the highest payroll is by developing impact players from their farm systems to help supplement established stars and veterans.
Steinbrenner pointed to Anthony Volpe, Austin Wells and Luis Gil as examples of that, though the Yankees could use more help from their younger players if they are going to move under $300 million.
It has not helped the external perception of the Yankees that the team that beat them in the World Series last October went out and had a monster offseason, as the Dodgers are now projected to have a luxury tax payroll of $402.3 million (per Cot’s Contracts).
Their spending has reignited some debate on whether MLB should institute a salary cap, which could be a sticking point when the new collective bargaining agreement is negotiated after the 2026 season.
“I have been on the record already saying that I would consider supporting a cap, depending on what the cap is and contingent on the fact that there’s also a floor so that clubs that I feel aren’t spending enough money on payroll to improve their team would have to spend more,” Steinbrenner said.
