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The average salary for a MLB player in 2014 will break the $4 million mark for the very first time. While some players such as Los Angeles Dodgers ace pitcher will carry the load with contracts such as $31 million a season, their megadeals help to push up the average even though some players will be making nowhere near $4 million. The Associated Press recently performed a study and came up with the numbers.

MLB clubs are dishing out more than ever on salaries this year due to their new TV broadcasting deal. The average salary in 2015 is pegged at $4.25 million this year while it was just $3.65 million in 2013. In addition, millionaire baseball players will receive $100.50 each day they’re on the road in meal money. This can be quite costly to MLB teams since they each play 162 games a season with half of them coming on the road.

Perhaps this is why pro baseball players receive the lowest per diem amount for meals than the other major professional sports leagues in North America. Studies show that NBA players receive $127.00 per day in food money while NFL players are given $113 and NHL players are handed $103 to eat with every day they’re out of town. Of course, the players can do whatever they want with this money and it’s doubtful it’s all used for meals while on the road.

Pro sports teams like to assume that players are using the cash to eat healthy meals while they’re away from home, but know this isn’t always the case. Ex baseball star Rickey Henderson, a Hall of Famer, said he cooked for himself when he was on the road and pocketed the money. He then handed out cash rewards to his children if they came home from school with good report cards. There’s a good chance that players who earn the MLB minimum salary are also saving their meal money.

There’s a huge difference between playing in the Major Leagues and the Minors starting with the $4.25 million average salary. Major Leaguers travel on chartered flights and stay in top-class hotels while Minor Leaguers often ride the buses, stay in motels and typically buy their own meals. Of course, this is a good way to motivate players in the Minor Leagues to improve their game and make it to MLB. However, some Minor League players are given meal money, but it works out to about $25 per day.

The Associated Press revealed that MLB players are being given a smaller percentage of league revenues to share these days, but obviously the players’ association is doing something right since the average salary is increasing and the per-diem rates are also quite healthy. It seems MLB is quite well off financially at this point in time and sooner or later we may see Minor League baseball players unionizing to make sure they get their fair share of the pie.