2009 NPB Average Salary
Note: the 2014 revision of this post is here.
What great timing — just after we published the 2009 NPB Payroll Ranking, the Japan Professional Baseball Players Association announced their 2009 average salary numbers. The 738 players’ (not including foreign non-union players other than Chen Weiyin from the Chunichi Dragons) average salary for the 2009 season amounts to 3793K yen, which is 4.5 percent higher than the previous season.
The Tokyo Yomiuri Giants lost the top spot after holding the highest average salary for 14 consecutive seasons. The Hanshin Tigers earn the crown for the first time since the numbers began being published in 1988. The reason for Tigers reaching the top is that they have the highest Japanese paid player in Tomoaki Kanemoto and the main players on the roster earning at the 2M range. The runner-up is the Softbank Hawks and, suprisingly, in third place is the Yomiuri Giants. The Hiroshima Toyo Carp are in the last spot for the second year in a row. As most foreign players are not included in these numbers, it’s really the average payroll for the Japanese players on each team.
| Rank | Team | Average Salary | PreviousSeason |
| 1 | Hanshin Tigers | $58,519 | $53,297 |
| 2 | Softbank Hawks | $53,257 | $55,045 |
| 3 | Yomiuri Giants | $47,227 | $55,651 |
| 4 | Chiba Lotte Marines | $43,682 | $34,572 |
| 5 | Chunichi Dragons | $43,541 | $51,065 |
| 6 | Seibu Lions | $36,118 | $30,563 |
| 7 | Tokyo Yakult Swallows | $33,572 | $28,088 |
| 8 | Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters | $33,380 | $29,805 |
| 9 | Yokohama Baystars | $33,078 | $32,330 |
| 10 | Orix Buffaloes | $27,553 | $25,846 |
| 11 | Rakuten Golden Eagles | $27,108 | $23,887 |
| 12 | Hiroshima Toyo Carps | $23,210 | $19,675 |
* Note: these figures have been converted to US Dollars on May 3rd.