Samsung Lions top KBO payroll; every team stays under cap
Samsung Lions players greet fans after their loss to the Hanwha Eagles in Game 5 of the 2025 KBO League postseason playoffs at Daejeon Hanwha Life Ballpark, Oct. 24. Yonhap
The Samsung Lions led Korean baseball in payroll in the 2025 season, with all 10 clubs in the league staying under the salary cap.
The data released by the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) on Thursday showed that the Lions topped all teams with a payroll of just over 13.2 billion won ($8.9 million).
The KBO introduced the salary cap in the 2023 season to ensure more competitive balance. For 2025, the cap was set at just over 13.7 billion won.
The payroll is the sum of the annual salaries for the 40 highest-paid players on each club, excluding rookies, who each earn a league minimum 30 million won, and foreign players, who are paid in U.S. dollars.
The Lions finished fourth in the regular season and advanced to the penultimate stage of the postseason in October.
The LG Twins, who had the best regular-season record and also won the Korean Series title, ranked second in payroll with a little more than 13.1 billion won.
The Kiwoom Heroes, who finished last in the standings, also spent the least amount on player salaries with a bit under 4.4 billion won. The Heroes and the NC Dinos (8.9 billion won) were the only two teams with a payroll under 10 billion won.
The salary cap will increase by 5 percent annually from 2026 to 2028. It will be 14.4 billion won next year, 15.1 billion won in 2027 and 15.9 billion won in 2028.
The KBO will also introduce the salary floor in 2027 to prevent teams from skimping on player wages. The initial floor will be 6.06 billion won in 2027, and it will be raised by 5 percent every year afterward.