Wondering how much do Japanese baseball players earn? Read further to find out the top baseball players of Japan and their salaries in Nippon Professional Baseball right here.
Step up to the plate as we delve into the earnings of Japanese baseball players. This comprehensive look examines the salaries within Japan’s beloved pastime, revealing the financial rewards and the factors that influence the income of these athletes in a sport that’s both a national obsession and a spectacle of skill.
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How much do the Japanese baseball players earn?
The average for Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) in 2023 was around ¥44.7 million, but top players can earn much more
The highest level of baseball is called Nippon Professional Baseball often referred to as Puro Yakyu by the locals. It has two leagues that consist of 12 teams in total.
Some of the top players of Nippon baseball league are Ichiro Suzuki, Yu Darvish, Shohei Ohtani and a lot more.
Initially the Japanese players would all sign up for Chicago Clubs as the salary offered was much higher and the working conditions were great. However, times have changed and this doesn’t happen anymore.
Anyway, without further ado, let’s check out how much do baseball players earn?
How Much Do Japanese Baseball Players Earn?
Average Annual Salary of NPB teams
So if you’re wondering how much do baseball players earn, let’s look at it according to the teams first.
NPB’s players average salary as of 2021 was 41.7 million Japanese yen. Starting from Fukuoka Softbank Hawks amounting to 4.16 billion Japanese yen in 2021.
Yanagita Yuki from the Fukuoka Softbank Hawks, agreed to a salary of ¥620 million ($5.46 million) for the 2022 season becoming the highest paid position player in NPB’s history.
Masahiro Tanaka, Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles pitcher, is the highest paid NPB player ever at any position. His salary is estimated to be ¥900 million.
Yomiuri Giants players’ salary amounted to 99 million million yen in 2021. Tomoyuki Sugano is the highest paid player of the team with 800 million yen ($7.36 million) followed by Sakamoto Hayato with 500 million yen in 2021.
Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles’s average salary as of 2021 was almost 3.8 billion Japanese yen. The highest paid Japanese baseball players in this team are Masahiro who earned 900 million yen in 2021, Hideto Asamura earned 500 million yen and Takahiro Norimoto earned 300 million yen.
Hiroshima Toyo Carp’s average salary amounts to 42.36 million yen, Saitama Seibu Lions with 39.72 million yen and then comes Hanshin Tigers with 38.63.
Some of the lowest-paid teams are Chunichi Dragons, Orix Buffaloes, and China Lotte Marines with 31.79, 30.38, and 30.35 million yen respectively.
If you’re still wondering how much do Japanese baseball players earn, let’s find out more about it further.
Tier Division of Japanese Baseball Players
So before moving to how much do Japanese baseball players earn, let’s look at how the tier division works.
So, there are three tiers of Nippon Professional Baseball, the lowest tier consist of players on “ikusei” contracts or non roster developmental contracts.
These teams cannot play in the Pacific and Central league but can play in minor game leagues of Eastern and Western league.
These teams have a minimum annual salary of 2.4 million yen or $21,000. The players coming in this tier are not counted as organisational players and cannot be counted as each team’s 70-man.
But, this is not it. They can be included in the NPB contract. So, guess how much do Japanese baseball players earn in this contract? These teams have a developmental contract for 3 years.
It’s signed with 4.4 million yen or $40,000. These players don’t count against the 70-man roster but can play in the first team.
All the teams have only 25 active baseball players on the active game day but they can have 29 players on the first team. These players are salaried at 14.3 million yen or $128,000 on the active roster. In 2020, it was raised to 16 million yen or $144,000.
Salaries of Top Baseball Players
Tomoyuki Sugano’s Earnings
If you’re wondering how much this Japanese professional baseball player’s salary is, let’s unravel it here.
Tomoyuki Sugano is a Japanese baseball pitcher for Yomiuri Giants in the Nippon Professional Baseball. Sungano has the total wins of 101 as opposed to 49 losses.
The Giant’s manager Tatsunori Hara is his uncle under whom he wanted to play since the beginning.
He joined the Yomiuri Giants in October 2012 and was soon called the Climax series MVP. In 2017, he became the first to win both the Eiji Sawamura Award and the Central League MVP since Masumi Kuwata.
He signed his contract with Yomiuri Giants at 650 million Japanese yen. Earlier in the year 2018, his earnings were topped at 450 million Japanese yen. He’s undoubtedly the highest paid Japanese baseball player currently.
Tomoyuki Sugano’s current net worth is estimated at $7 million USD where his major earnings come from the Yomiuri Giants Baseball team.
Let’s move to another player if you wanna know more about how much do Japanese baseball players earn!
Yanagita Yuki’s Earnings
Yanagita Yuki is a Japanese baseball outfielder for the team Fukuoka Softbank Hawks. He is popularly known as Giita and is a left-hand batsman. Giita has won 6 Japanese series championships after he joined the team, Fukuoka Softbank Hawks.
Yanagita joined Fukuoka Softbank Hawks in May 2011 and has been awarded the title of series MVP 5+ times in different leagues. He was also a member of the Japan National Baseball team in 2014.
Giita has been such a spectacular player, he was also selected for MLB series twice in 2014 and 2018. Let’s get to know how much Japanese baseball players earn, it’s Yanagita after Sugano.
Hawks agreed to sign Yanagita at 610 million Japanese yen in december 2020. His current salary is also estimated at 610 million Japanese yen. His salary in 2019 was 570 million Japanese yen. He is one of the highest paid players in Japan.
Sarfate Dennis’s Earnings
How much do Japanese baseball players earn with Softbank?
Sarfate Scott Dennis is one of the well known Japanese baseball pitchers from Fukuoka Softbank Hawks. His debut in the baseball grounds was made in September 2006 from Milwaukee Brewers in the MLB league.
It was much later in 2011 when he joined the NPB and started playing for the team Hiroshima Toyo Carp. He soon was awarded the All star MVP in the same year. He also played one season for Saitama Seibu Lions in the year 2013.
He then joined the Softbank Hawks with a 3 year contract but later extended it upto 2021. He is the most successful player in NPB history having tasted so many teams.
His current salary is 67 million Japanese yen. Hope, your question- how much do Japanese baseball players earn is getting the answer!
Sakamoto Hayato’s Earnings
So how much do Japanese baseball players earn with Giants?
Sakamoto Hayato is one of the youngest players since Hideki Matsu to open a season for the Giants. Hayato is a Japanese shortstop who plays for the NPB from the Giants team.
He joined Yomiuri Giants team when he was just 18 in the year of 2007. He has played almost 77 Western leagues with his team. He’s been the holder of NBP All Star 11 times and won Japanese series championship twice.
His batting average in the year 2018 was about 0.345 which is one of the highest in NPB history. Undoubtedly, Sakamoto Hayato is one of the best Japanese baseball players of all times in history.
Sakamoto’s average income is 500,000,000 Japanese yen. He is one of the most paid players of the Yomiuri Giants team.
Hideto Asamura’s Earnings
What do you think, how much do Japanese baseball players earn with the Tohoku Rakuten team?
Hideto Asamura is a 30 year old Japanese professional baseball player who joined NPB in 2010. He initially signed with Saitama Seibu Lions in and continued for a very long time until 2018.
He is a 7-time NPB All Star holder and has won golden glove award, best nine award and other awards that makes him one of the best Japanese baseball players.
Asamura exercised his free-agent option and signed a contract with Tohoku Rakuten in 2018. He is now the Pacific League home run leader. His total home runs are 212.
His average income is 50 million Japanese Yen.
Earnings of MLB Players
Now, let’s find out how much do Japanese baseball players earn with MLB?
The most famous MLB players are Ichiro Suzuki, Yu Darvish, Shohei Ohtani, and Hideki Matsui. Their earnings are $2 million USD, $20 million USD, $30 million USD, and $9 million USD respectively.
These players are amazing and one of the best baseball sports can ever have.
Who is the highest-paid Japanese baseball player?
Matsui is the highest paid Japanese baseball player from MLB league in 2021. He has very recently made 197 extra base hits which also includes 70 home runs. He has signed the $52 million contract which made him the highest paid Japanese baseball player in America.
Earnings of Players
Hope you got to know how much do Japanese baseball players earn by the entire league and also player by player. Japanese baseball players put in a lot of efforts and make the nation proud each and every time they play.
Hope this article about how much do Japanese baseball players earn helped you find your answers.
Japanese baseball Players Salary: FAQs
How much do baseball players in Japan make?
Japan’s NPB’s baseball players of the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks average salary in 2020 was about 71.31 million Japanese yen. Which makes Japanese players of Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks the highest paid baseball players followed by the players of Yomiuri Giants.
Who is the highest paid baseball player in Japan?
The highest paid baseball player in Japan is Masahiro Tanaka who is the current pitcher of the Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles. His estimated annual salary in 2021 was ¥900 million making him the highest paid NPB player ever.
How much do Japanese baseball players make in dollars?
All the teams have only 25 active baseball players on the active game day but they can have 29 players on the first team. These players are salaried at 14.3 million yen or $128,000 on the active roster. In 2020, it was raised to 16 million yen or $144,000
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