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A major-league win has a price you can compute: total league payroll divided by total league wins above replacement. We measure wins with our own ldWAR and divide each season's inflation-adjusted payroll by it. In 2025 that rate was $5,651,790 per LWAR in 2026 dollars, up 6.3x from $902,109 in 1985. Multiply a player's LWAR by it and you get what his production was worth; subtract his pay and you get the surplus. Every input and formula is on this page.
One number per season: league $/LWAR. The payroll column is the recorded league total (1985-2016 sums the salary records that survive, roughly 57-86% of players by season, so those rates run low; 2017 onward covers full rosters). LWAR is our ldWAR, summed over every player-season. The 2020 payroll is the pandemic-prorated total, not face value.
| Season | League payroll | League LWAR | $ per LWAR | $ per LWAR (2026 dollars) | Salary records |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1985 | $262M | 896.9 | $292,067 | $902,109 | partial (57% of players) |
| 1986 | $307.9M | 886.4 | $347,310 | $1,052,765 | partial (74% of players) |
| 1987 | $272.6M | 839.5 | $324,686 | $949,392 | partial (63% of players) |
| 1988 | $300.5M | 923.4 | $325,369 | $914,117 | partial (67% of players) |
| 1989 | $360M | 919.8 | $391,396 | $1,048,977 | partial (70% of players) |
| 1990 | $443.9M | 895.8 | $495,508 | $1,259,999 | partial (79% of players) |
| 1991 | $613M | 885.8 | $692,076 | $1,688,332 | partial (65% of players) |
| 1992 | $805.5M | 927.8 | $868,226 | $2,055,787 | partial (73% of players) |
| 1993 | $902.1M | 930.5 | $969,456 | $2,229,678 | partial (81% of players) |
| 1994 | $927.8M | 638.1 | $1,454,088 | $3,259,306 | partial (86% of players) |
| 1995 | $951.5M | 808.9 | $1,176,324 | $2,564,757 | partial (84% of players) |
| 1996 | $957M | 901.5 | $1,061,527 | $2,248,549 | partial (79% of players) |
| 1997 | $1127.3M | 914.7 | $1,232,374 | $2,550,806 | partial (79% of players) |
| 1998 | $1278.3M | 987.4 | $1,294,650 | $2,638,756 | partial (79% of players) |
| 1999 | $1494.4M | 959.1 | $1,558,139 | $3,107,794 | partial (79% of players) |
| 2000 | $1666.1M | 945.8 | $1,761,600 | $3,398,834 | partial (65% of players) |
| 2001 | $1960.7M | 982.2 | $1,996,189 | $3,745,588 | partial (67% of players) |
| 2002 | $2024.1M | 1004.0 | $2,016,001 | $3,723,710 | partial (66% of players) |
| 2003 | $2128.3M | 996.5 | $2,135,802 | $3,857,430 | partial (65% of players) |
| 2004 | $2070.7M | 991.5 | $2,088,375 | $3,673,428 | partial (64% of players) |
| 2005 | $2188.7M | 1015.1 | $2,156,056 | $3,668,017 | partial (65% of players) |
| 2006 | $2321.5M | 979.9 | $2,369,205 | $3,904,678 | partial (64% of players) |
| 2007 | $2476.7M | 1004.0 | $2,466,800 | $3,952,778 | partial (63% of players) |
| 2008 | $2684.9M | 1016.4 | $2,641,600 | $4,076,362 | partial (63% of players) |
| 2009 | $2664.7M | 1014.1 | $2,627,723 | $4,069,427 | partial (62% of players) |
| 2010 | $2721.4M | 1043.7 | $2,607,456 | $3,972,874 | partial (63% of players) |
| 2011 | $2784.5M | 1058.1 | $2,631,504 | $3,886,827 | partial (63% of players) |
| 2012 | $2932.7M | 1048.0 | $2,798,551 | $4,049,753 | partial (63% of players) |
| 2013 | $3034.5M | 1081.8 | $2,805,014 | $4,000,507 | partial (62% of players) |
| 2014 | $3192.3M | 1090.9 | $2,926,321 | $4,106,894 | partial (61% of players) |
| 2015 | $3514.1M | 1050.2 | $3,346,101 | $4,690,460 | partial (61% of players) |
| 2016 | $3750.1M | 1018.1 | $3,683,499 | $5,099,088 | partial (60% of players) |
| 2017 | $4226.2M | 986.8 | $4,282,561 | $5,804,711 | full rosters |
| 2018 | $4179M | 1013.2 | $4,124,707 | $5,457,454 | full rosters |
| 2019 | $4158M | 969.6 | $4,288,427 | $5,573,091 | full rosters |
| 2020 | $1850.8M | 327.3 | $5,654,445 | $7,258,771 | prorated (2020) |
| 2021 | $3945.1M | 975.0 | $4,046,254 | $4,961,212 | full rosters |
| 2022 | $4516.7M | 964.9 | $4,680,854 | $5,314,042 | full rosters |
| 2023 | $4991.4M | 937.0 | $5,326,902 | $5,808,383 | full rosters |
| 2024 | $5110M | 948.5 | $5,387,276 | $5,705,922 | full rosters |
| 2025 | $5256.2M | 959.8 | $5,476,576 | $5,651,790 | full rosters |