The final luxury tax bill for the New York Mets’ failed 2023 season became official this week, according to figures published Saturday by the Associated Press, with billionaire owner Steve Cohen on the hook for a record-high penalty of nearly $101 million.
For the privilege of fielding a team that loaded up on star players only to wind up far out of the race by the trade deadline, Cohen will pay a tax penalty that dwarfed the total payrolls of some rival clubs.
A record eight major-league teams will pay the luxury tax. Joining the Mets are the San Diego Padres, New York Yankees, Los Angeles Dodgers, Philadelphia Phillies, Toronto Blue Jays, Atlanta Braves and the World Series champion Texas Rangers. The number would have been nine had the Los Angeles Angels not successfully eked beneath the $233 million luxury tax threshold, thanks to a flurry of late-season moves to dump salary.
The Mets set off to win their first World Series since 1986. But by the end, the only new title they could claim was for the highest luxury tax payroll of all time: $374.4 million. That led to a tax bill that more than doubled the previous record of $43.6 million paid by the Dodgers after the 2015 season.
Of the eight teams to pay a penalty, the three with the highest tax bills missed the playoffs: the Mets ($100.8 million), Padres ($39.7 million) and Yankees ($32.4 million). The Dodgers ($19.4 million), Phillies ($7.0 million), Blue Jays ($5.5 million) and Braves ($3.2 million) made the postseason.
The Rangers ($1.8 million) won the franchise’s first championship.
The eight teams combined are on the hook to pay $209.8 in penalties — shattering the previous record from last season, when teams paid a combined $75.8 million.
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