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According to information derived from Baseball Prospectus, the Royals will begin with an Opening Day payroll just over $137 million. According to AP estimates, the Royals will fall near the middle of payrolls, ranking 15th in baseball.
| Player | 2016 Salary |
| Alex Gordon | $12,000,000 |
| Edinson Volquez | $9,500,000 |
| Kendrys Morales | $9,000,000 |
| Jason Vargas | $8,500,000 |
| Eric Hosmer | $8,250,000 |
| Wade Davis | $8,000,000 |
| Salvador Perez | $8,000,000 |
| Omar Infante | $7,750,000 |
| Ian Kennedy | $7,500,000 |
| Joakim Soria | $7,000,000 |
| Lorenzo Cain | $6,500,000 |
| Mike Moustakas | $5,600,000 |
| Luke Hochevar | $5,500,000 |
| Kris Medlen | $5,500,000 |
| Alcides Escobar | $5,250,000 |
| Chris Young | $4,250,000 |
| Danny Duffy | $4,225,000 |
| Kelvin Herrera | $2,550,000 |
| Mike Minor | $2,000,000 |
| Dillon Gee | $2,000,000 |
| Jarrod Dyson | $1,725,000 |
| Tim Collins | $1,475,000 |
| Yordano Ventura | $1,200,000 |
| Drew Butera | $1,162,500 |
| Chien-Ming Wang | $1,000,000 |
| Christian Colon | $518,425 |
| Paulo Orlando | $514,250 |
| Terrance Gore | $507,500 |
| Reymond Fuentes | $507,500 |
| Total | $137,485,175 |
Not included are buyouts payments to players whose contract options were declined - $3.2 million to Jeremy Guthrie, $1.5 million to Alex Rios, and $550,000 to Jason Frasor. This amount only includes players on the Major League roster and disabled list, and does not cover incentives. Insurance can cover up to $6 million of the salary of Jason Vargas, depending on how much time he misses following Tommy John surgery. The Royals gave Salvador Perez a $6 million signing bonus this year after restructuring his deal, adding to his $2 million salary for the year. In addition to these figures, the Royals will still owe Tony Cruz his $975,000 tendered Major League contract despite optioning him to the minor leagues.
The $137 million payroll represents a 22% increase over last year's Opening Day payroll of $112 million.The Royals have not been in the upper-half of baseball in team payrolls since 1994, the last year Muriel Kauffman owned the ballclub, when the club had the seventh-highest payroll in the Major Leagues.
| Year | Team Payroll | MLB rank |
| 1994 | $40,667,375 | 7th |
| 1995 | $31,181,334 | 18th |
| 1996 | $19,980,250 | 24th |
| 1997 | $33,868,149 | 19th |
| 1998 | $35,610,000 | 20th |
| 1999 | $16,557,000 | 27th |
| 2000 | $24,468,440 | 29th |
| 2001 | $35,643,000 | 26th |
| 2002 | $47,257,000 | 22nd |
| 2003 | $40,518,000 | 29th |
| 2004 | $47,609,000 | 22nd |
| 2005 | $29,679,067 | 30th |
| 2006 | $47,294,000 | 26th |
| 2007 | $67,116,500 | 22nd |
| 2008 | $58,245,000 | 24th |
| 2009 | $70,908,333 | 21st |
| 2010 | $72,267,710 | 20th |
| 2011 | $36,126,400 | 30th |
| 2012 | $60,916,225 | 27th |
| 2013 | $81,491,725 | 19th |
| 2014 | $92,034,345 | 19th |
| 2015 | $113,618,655 | 16th |
| 2016 | $137,318,477 | 15th |
Sources: Baseball Chronology, Steve the Ump, Associated Press