Chicago Cubs 2021 Payroll: Every Player Salary

Season 2021 (full payroll allocation)Ledger 74 of 80 players counting toward the totalDollars Nominal, not inflation adjusted

The Chicago Cubs carried a $144,040,237 payroll in 2021 across 74 players, an average of $1,946,490 and a median of $397,177. The highest-paid player was Jason Heyward at $23,500,000. Every salary on the ledger is listed below.

2021 total payroll$144M

Players counting74

Average salary$1.9M

Median salary$397K

Top paidJason Heyward $23.5M

2021 player salary ledger80 players

Every Chicago Cubs 2021 player salary, sorted by adjusted payroll
#		Pos	Service status	Category
1	Jason Heyward	RF	Veteran	Injured	$23,500,000	$23,500,000
2	Anthony Rizzo	1B		Retained	$16,500,000	$16,500,000
3	Kyle Hendricks	SP	Veteran	Active	$14,000,000	$14,000,000
4	Kris Bryant	3B		Retained	$12,685,465	$12,685,465
5	Javier Báez	SS		Retained	$11,450,645	$11,450,645
6	Craig Kimbrel	RP		Retained	$10,408,570	$10,408,570
7	Zach Davies	SP	Arbitration 3	Active	$8,630,000	$8,630,000
8	Willson Contreras	C	Arbitration 2	Injured	$6,650,000	$6,650,000
9	Jake Arrieta	SP		Retained	$6,000,000	$6,000,000
10	Ian Happ	CF	Arbitration 1	Active	$4,100,000	$4,100,000
11	Yu Darvish	SP		Retained	$3,000,000	$3,000,000
12	Joc Pederson	LF		Retained	$2,564,480	$2,564,480
13	Trevor Williams	SP		Retained	$2,300,645	$2,300,645
14	Austin Romine	C	Veteran	Injured	$2,000,000	$2,000,000
15	Andrew Chafin	RP		Retained	$1,427,404	$1,427,404
16	David Bote	2B	Pre-Arbitration Bypassed	Injured	$1,010,000	$1,010,000
17	Brandon Workman	RP		Retained	$1,000,000	$1,000,000
18	Matt Duffy	3B	Veteran	Active	$1,000,000	$1,000,000
19	Dan Winkler	RP		Retained	$900,000	$900,000
20	Rex Brothers	RP	Veteran	Active	$850,000	$850,000
21	Jonathan Holder	RP	Veteran	Injured	$750,000	$750,000
22	Jake Marisnick	CF		Retained	$650,560	$650,560
23	Eric Sogard	3B		Retained	$639,744	$639,744
24	Jose Lobaton	C	Veteran	Injured	$1,000,000	$612,903
25	Alec Mills	SP	Pre-Arbitration	Active	$600,000	$600,000
26	Rowan Wick	RP	Pre-Arbitration	Active	$593,000	$593,000
27	Adbert Alzolay	SP	Pre-Arbitration	Active	$573,000	$542,256
28	Dillon Maples	RP	Pre-Arbitration (buried)	Minors	$576,500	$533,028
29	Ryan Tepera	RP		Retained	$516,134	$516,134
30	Nico Hoerner	2B	Pre-Arbitration	Injured	$570,500	$502,988
31	Robinson Chirinos	C	Veteran	Injured	$1,000,000	$483,840
32	Adam Morgan	RP	Veteran	Active	$900,000	$464,544
33	P.J. Higgins	C	Pre-Arbitration	Injured	$570,500	$423,246
34	Kohl Stewart	SP	Pre-Arbitration	Injured	$700,000	$402,641
35	Justin Steele	SP	Pre-Arbitration	Active	$570,500	$401,777
36	Patrick Wisdom	3B	Pre-Arbitration	Injured	$570,500	$401,777
37	Rafael Ortega	LF	Pre-Arbitration	Active	$570,500	$398,710
38	Keegan Thompson	RP	Pre-Arbitration	Injured	$570,500	$395,643
39	Brad Wieck	RP	Pre-Arbitration	Injured	$570,500	$392,576
40	Codi Heuer	RP		Retained	$380,575	$380,575
41	Sergio Alcantara	2B	Pre-Arbitration	Active	$570,500	$355,772
42	Trevor Megill	RP	Pre-Arbitration	Active	$570,500	$331,236
43	Shelby Miller	SP		Retained	$263,424	$263,424
44	Tony Wolters	C		Retained	$263,424	$263,424
45	Tommy Nance	RP	Pre-Arbitration	Injured	$570,500	$208,556
46	Codi Heuer	RP	Pre-Arbitration	Active	$585,000	$204,425
47	Nick Madrigal	2B	Pre-Arbitration	Injured	$584,000	$204,100
48	Frank Schwindel	1B	Pre-Arbitration	Active	$570,500	$202,422
49	Manuel Rodriguez	RP	Pre-Arbitration	Injured	$570,500	$202,422
50	Michael Rucker	RP	Pre-Arbitration	Active	$570,500	$196,288
51	Michael Hermosillo	CF	Pre-Arbitration	Injured	$575,000	$145,277
52	Adrian Sampson	RP	Pre-Arbitration	Active	$570,500	$141,082
53	Nick Martini	RF	Pre-Arbitration	Injured	$570,500	$141,082
54	Kyle Ryan	RP		Retained	$137,632	$137,632
55	Andrew Romine	SS	Veteran (buried)	Minors	$570,500	$116,546
56	Alfonso Rivas	1B	Pre-Arbitration	Injured	$570,500	$110,412
57	Scott Effross	P	Pre-Arbitration	Active	$570,500	$110,412
58	Tyson Miller	SP		Retained	$107,345	$107,345
59	Jason Adam	RP		Retained	$105,105	$105,105
60	Jake Jewell	RP		Retained	$76,675	$76,675
61	Johneshwy Fargas	OF	Pre-Arbitration	Active	$570,500	$67,474
62	Greg Deichmann	OF	Pre-Arbitration	Active	$570,500	$55,206
63	Ryan Meisinger	RP		Retained	$49,072	$49,072
64	Ildemaro Vargas	2B		Retained	$42,938	$42,938
65	Cory Abbott	SP	Pre-Arbitration	Active	$570,500	$39,871
66	Pedro Strop	RP		Retained	$21,505	$21,505
67	Jason Adam	RP	Pre-Arbitration	Active	$592,500	$19,110
68	Taylor Gushue	C	Pre-Arbitration (buried)	Minors	$570,500	$18,402
69	Trent Giambrone	2B	Pre-Arbitration	Active	$570,500	$12,268
70	Erick Castillo	C	Pre-Arbitration	Active	$570,500	$9,201
71	Joseph Biagini	RP	Veteran	Active	$570,500	$6,134
72	Tyler Ladendorf	2B	Pre-Arbitration	Active	$570,500	$6,134
73	Robert Stock	RP		Retained	$3,067	$3,067
74	Tyler Payne	C	Pre-Arbitration	Active	$570,500	$3,067
75	Alexander Canario	OF	Pre-Arbitration	Minors	$0	$0
76	Alexander Vizcaino	SP	Pre-Arbitration	Minors	$0	$0
77	Anderson Espinoza	SP	Pre-Arbitration	Minors	$0	$0
78	Brailyn Marquez	SP	Pre-Arbitration	Minors	$0	$0
79	Christopher Morel	3B	Pre-Arbitration	Minors	$0	$0
80	Miguel Amaya	C	Pre-Arbitration	Minors	$0	$0

About this 2021 Chicago Cubs ledger

Each row is one player’s 2021 allocation with the club. Adjusted is the player’s prorated payroll allocation, and the Adjusted figures sum to the club’s published $144,040,237 total, which includes active-roster salary plus injured-list, retained, dead and buried minor-league money. Salary is the full payroll salary published for the season, so the two can differ when money is deferred, prorated or carried by another club. Non-buried minor-league allocations (6 players on this ledger) are real money the club paid but are excluded from that total, so their Adjusted figure reads $0. Amounts are nominal US dollars as recorded; full source credits and access dates live on the sources page.

Questions

How many players did the Chicago Cubs pay in 2021?

80 players appear on the 2021 ledger; 74 of them carry money that counts toward the $144,040,237 club total, the rest are non-buried minor-league allocations.

Why do modern-era payrolls read higher than a simple roster sum?

From 2017 on the total is everything the club paid that season: active roster, injured list, released players still owed money, retained salary from trades, and buried minor-league allocations. That matches the totals clubs and reporters quote.

Can I compare this season with others?

Yes. The Chicago Cubs year-by-year history links every season from 1985 to the present, and each season has a ledger like this one.

Keep exploring

Chicago Cubs payroll history (all seasons)League-wide payroll history Chicago Cubs current cards MLB transactions archive

Salary and payroll records aggregated and published by Legends Deck. Nominal dollars; no inflation adjustment. Full source credits, licenses and access dates on the sources page.