How much did the NY Mets pay in luxury tax penalties in 2025?

The topic of New York Mets payroll was a big one on Friday with Steve Cohen feeling the need to defend a report about what the team could be investing into players next year.

Whether payroll comes down or not will be determined by what the team has planned for the rest of the offseason. Cohen was sure to note the Mets intend to remain flexible about what they may add mid-year such as with waiver claims or trade deadline moves.

Conveniently, the same day the mini-Mets payroll controversy came out we learned exactly how much the team paid last year in luxury tax penalty.

The Mets paid $91.6 million in penalties last year for their 2025 roster

Nine teams paid (literally) for going over the $241 million threshold. Only the Los Angeles Dodgers, at $169.4 million, were higher than the Mets whose total came in at $91.6 million.

The Mets will undoubtedly be paying into the penalties yet again next year. The base salary climbs slightly to $244 million which the Mets are already projected to exceed by about $50 million. Even if they were to subtract some salaries like Jeff McNeil and Kodai Senga, they’re going to be penalized to some degree.

The Mets ended up paying their players a total of $347 million, exceeding the third tier of $281 million when the penalties get much steeper. The Dodgers, New York Yankees, Philadelphia Phillies, and Toronto Blue Jays joined them in that upper echelon.

Money is going to be a big conversation over the next 11.5 months as the current CBT is set to expire on December 1, 2026. With a lockout looming, these numbers serve as another reminder as to how different some teams operate versus others. The Miami Marlins with $87 million and Chicago White Sox with $92 million were at the very bottom.

All of these numbers along with judgement of Cohen’s spending habits can explain why the Mets owner may be feeling a little frustrated. For four times the cost, the Mets only had four more wins than the Marlins in the regular season. New York paid more in penalties than ownership paid into the Marlins players.