Teams spent $207.9 million on draft bonuses in 2012, the second-highest total ever. The record was set a year ago, when the clubs combined to spend $228 million on bonuses and another $8.1 million on guaranteed salaries as part of major league contracts.
With new draft rules allocating specific bonus pools and prescribing harsh draft-pick penalties to teams that exceeded them by more than 5 percent, several clubs changed their shopping patterns. The Pirates and Nationals were the two biggest draft spenders under the old Collective Bargaining Agreement, which covered the 2007-11 seasons. Pittsburgh plummeted from a record $17 million in 2011 to $3.8 million this year, while Washington dropped from $15 million (and another $2.6 million in salary guarantees) to $4.9 million.
On the other side of the spectrum, both the Twins and Astros had ranked in the bottom third in bonus spending under the old CBA. With the top two draft slots and bonus pools this year, Minnesota and Houston led all clubs by paying $12.6 million and $12.1 million in bonuses, respectively.
| Team | 2012 | 2011 | 2007-11 Average |
| Twins | $12,602,400 | $5,902,300 | $4,720,740 |
| Astros | $12,074,200 | $5,545,800 | $5,032,526 |
| Padres | $10,993,000 | $11,020,600 | $7,153,620 |
| Blue Jays | $10,486,000 | $10,996,500 | $7,685,920 |
| Cardinals | $9,909,490 | $4,554,000 | $5,363,640 |
| Mariners | $9,325,200 | $11,330,500 | $7,211,180 |
| Cubs | $9,164,700 | $11,994,550 | $6,481,420 |
| Athletics | $8,301,600 | $3,067,300 | $5,042,100 |
| Red Sox | $7,908,000 | $10,978,700 | $8,819,450 |
| Royals | $7,573,000 | $14,066,000 | $9,040,980 |
| Reds | $7,450,400 | $6,378,900 | $5,533,770 |
| Orioles | $7,433,200 | $8,432,100 | $8,243,940 |
| Rangers | $7,394,400 | $4,193,000 | $6,276,860 |
| Brewers | $7,200,100 | $7,509,300 | $5,870,300 |
| Mets | $7,007,400 | $6,782,500 | $4,983,860 |
| Rockies | $6,978,700 | $3,967,900 | $4,900,780 |
| White Sox | $6,452,100 | $2,786,300 | $3,665,490 |
| Dodgers | $6,277,300 | $3,509,300 | $4,721,610 |
| Marlins | $5,755,700 | $4,135,000 | $4,342,210 |
| Indians | $5,330,000 | $8,225,000 | $6,635,860 |
| Yankees | $4,898,400 | $6,324,500 | $6,739,800 |
| Nationals | $4,880,500 | $15,002,100 | $10,216,920 |
| Phillies | $4,787,800 | $4,689,800 | $4,560,540 |
| Braves | $4,758,000 | $3,735,700 | $4,402,210 |
| Giants | $4,630,500 | $6,266,000 | $6,632,480 |
| Diamondbacks | $4,594,800 | $11,930,000 | $7,052,200 |
| Rays | $4,427,300 | $11,482,900 | $8,116,440 |
| Pirates | $3,830,700 | $17,005,700 | $10,411,480 |
| Tigers | $3,172,300 | $2,878,700 | $6,253,840 |
| Angels | $2,289,800 | $3,318,100 | $4,538,880 |
| Total | $207,886,990 | $228,009,050 | $190,651,046 |
| Average | $6,929,566 | $7,600,302 | $6,355,035 |
Editor's note: This chart has been updated from its original version to reflect the Astros' signing of seventh-rounder Preston Tucker for $100,000 (July 18), the Red Sox' signing of 40th-rounder Kevin Heller for $1,000 (Aug. 8), the Pirates' signing of 21st-rounder Jordan Steranka for $1,000 (Aug. 31), the White Sox' signings of 29th-rounder Jason Coats (Jan. 8) and 39th-rounder Mitch Glasser (Jan. 15) for $1,000 each, and the Athletics' signing of 31st-rounder Ryan Gorton for $1,000 (April 9).
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will anyone get penalized for spending too much?
Posted by zack | July 20, 2012 at 7:14 am | ShortcutAre these signing bonus totals for all draft pick signings, or just those in the first ten rounds?
Posted by Jesse | July 20, 2012 at 10:55 am | Shortcut