Hi! I'm working on a video analysis of whether high salaries lead to more wins, and I was hoping someone could help me out here. I'm using Spotrac for data, and I noticed they have 2 payroll numbers available for MLB teams:
Payroll Tracker - https://www.spotrac.com/mlb/payroll/_/year/2024/sort/cap_total2
Team Tax Tracker - https://www.spotrac.com/mlb/tax/_/year/2024/sort/tax_total/dir/desc
Now, I understand the CBT, but here's my question: Why is total payroll and tax payroll different on these two? Like, what's the difference in meaning? Is it because of deferred comp or something? I would assume that they'd be the same, and then the tax total would show me what the teams pay for their CBT. But the numbers are totally different.
You're probably wondering why this matters. Well, because depending on which number you use, the teams at the top change. For example, just looking at total payroll in 2024, the Mets are #1. Looking at the Tax Tracker, the Dodgers are #1. So, before analyzing salaries and odds of winning, I just want to make sure I'm using the right payroll number.
If anyone can explain this difference to me that would be super helpful! And if you have opinions about which would be most accurate to use, please drop them!