MLB Umpire Salary: How much do they Make?

Posted on by Jim Smarts

The 2021 Major League Baseball (MLB) season began last month with the New York Yankees playing the Toronto Blue Jays. The regular season will commence on October 3, 2021. Teams across the league are working towards securing a spot in the MLB World Series.

Boston Red Sox, Chicago White Sox, St. Louis Cardinals, Oakland Athletics, and the San Francisco Giants are enjoying successful campaigns in their respective divisions.

The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has caused all sorts of logistic and fiscal issues for all parties involved in Major League Baseball. Everyone is bearing the brunt of this deadly virus, from players and agents to fans at home.

But one set of officials who continue to tackle this plague are the umpires associated with the MLB. Let’s take a look at what it takes to be part of this select group of individuals who earn north of $100,000 per annum.

MLB Umpires salary information

When it comes to the MLB and its umpiring officials, there’s a lot of money exchanging hands daily. As per Bleacher Report, the average salary for an MLB official is $235,000 annually.

You might think that is a substantial number. But MLB officials still fall behind compensation packages for officials in the NBA and NFL. So what is the number that a top-level MLB official rakes in on a seasonal basis?

But before that, it’s essential to understand that the journey from minor league baseball to MLB is not easy. As per the report, their average annual salary increases by 400 per cent once they join the MLB.

They earn between $210,000-$240,000 on an annual basis. In addition to that, Career Trend reports that first-class flights from one series to another are paid for by the league itself. But one must also remember that in comparison to NBA and NFL officials, MLB umpires officiate a larger number of games every week.

Reports reveal the average MLB umpire earns $1,451 from a single game. Sure, you can see the excessive workload as a bit of a task but the perks are bountiful.

But as seen in the Twitter post above, they are also subjected to immense criticism from passionate baseball fans across America. They are often subjected to excessive hate mail after controversial incidents on the baseball field. But they continue to do their best to execute decisions with utmost precision.

First-class air travel coupled by hanging around baseball superstars. It doesn’t sound like a bad deal to us at all!