Kyle Tucker might have owned the attention economy this winter. But Juan Soto remains the king of Major League Baseball's top earners.
Soto will make a major league-high $61.875 million this season, according to MLB’s present-day calculations obtained by USA TODAY Sports.
Thanks to deferred money, front-loaded signing bonuses and concerns about mitigating the competitive balance tax, the actual top earners in present-day value – as calculated by the MLB Labor Relations Department – can vary in a given year.
It's not surprising, though, that Soto landed atop the list of in the second year of his 15-year, $765 million deal with the New York Mets, which contains no deferred money.
MLB payrolls 2026: See the full rankings
