An MLB analyst explains what this bonus means for the bulk of the roster for winning the World Series.
This Tuesday, MLB announced the value of full shares for teams that played in the 2024 postseason, with a record figure of $129,092,159. As reigning champions, the Los Angeles Dodgers will receive 36% of the sum for a bonus of $46,473,177, which is equivalent to $477,441 per member.
On this figure, Michael Kay, lead analyst for the New York Yankees for the YES Network, explained that this bonus does not mean anything to the team’s big stars and their top salaries, such as Shohei Ohtani, Mookie Betts or Freddie Freeman, but it will be a relevant figure for the team’s support staff.
Kay analyzed the implications of this record postseason bonus obtained by the Dodgers and Yankees, who thanks to their commercial weight, managed to generate a much more attractive bonus for the members of their rosters.
Under the current postseason format, the collective bargaining agreement calls for the creation of a monetary pool for players from part of the gate receipts from games in the four rounds of the playoffs.
This fund is integrated with 60% of the gate receipts from the first two games of each Wild Card round, the first three games of each Division Series and the first four games of each Championship Series and the World Series.
“This doesn’t mean anything to Freddie Freeman, or to Ohtani or Betts, but can you imagine what it means to the guys in the support system? It’s a life changer,” the analyst noted.
The Yankees received $354,572 per full share
The Yankees will receive the second-highest bonus, with a bonus that is 24% of the total, with 71 shares, equivalent to $354,572 per share.
“It’s life-changing, again, for the bullpen catcher, for the guys who work in the clubhouse,” Kay detailed. “I don’t know if they got full shares, the clubhouse guys and stuff like that. It changes their lives. I know guys who were part of the clubhouse staff when the Yankees won in the late ’90s and they bought things they never would have been able to afford. It changed their lives!”
“I’m very happy for all these people,” he added. “I guess the players were generous because of the 71 full shares the Yankees received. If you look at the players, there are only 26 on the active roster. Let’s say in total about 40 guys played throughout the year. I don’t know if they all got full shares, but there were another 31 full shares that they voted on.”
The World Series between the Yankees and Dodgers was crucial in generating an additional $19.8 million for the fund from the previous record of $107.8 million set in 2023.
