During the 2016 season, 124 of the 750 players in Major League Baseball — or one out of every six — will make at least $10 million this season, not including endorsements. That is 50 more than the NFL (74, including bonuses paid this year) despite there being more than twice as many players in that league (1,700).
The number in MLB is even more incredible when you consider that most players make at or near the league minimum ($507,500) in their first three seasons and are not eligible for free agency until their seventh or, in some cases, eighth season.
The NBA has 71 players making at least $10 million this season which, like MLB, translates to about one out of every six of their 390 players. Meanwhile, in the NFL it is one out of every 23 players and in the NHL it is one out of every 115 players.
Cork Gaines/Business Insider