Survey: Barcelona is best-paid team in world sports, Steelers rank 75th

LONDON — Soccer players at Spanish powerhouses Barcelona and Real Madrid are on the best-paid teams in world sports, according to a survey published Monday.

On that same list, the Pittsburgh Steelers came in as the 75th best-paid team. The Penguins landed at 91st, with the Pirates at 177th.

The 10th edition of the Global Sports Salaries study by sportingintelligence.com placed Barcelona top of the list with an average basic salary of a first team player of $12.8 million. That figure is down on last year when Barcelona was also first with an average of $13.7 million, swelled by the basic pay check of Lionel Messi, which exceeds $65 million.

The Steelers’ $3.74 million average salary put that at No. 75 on the list, 18 spots higher than they were last year. The Penguins dropped three spots to No. 91 with their $3.28 million salary average. The Pirates dropped a huge 59 spots to No. 177 with an average salary pay of $1.69 million.

The figures used in the survey represent basic annual pay and do not include signing bonuses, performance bonuses and other extras.

Teams from the NBA filled seven spots in the Top 10 and took 15 of the top 20 places.

In 2017, the top three teams in the survey were the Oklahoma City Thunder, Cleveland Cavaliers, and Golden State Warriors, while in 2018 three NBA teams broke the average pay ceiling of $10 million per player. This year, the Portland Trail Blazers are in fourth place at just over $10.4 million, Golden State fifth at $10.28 million and Oklahoma City has fallen to sixth at $9.83 million.

The highest ranked NFL team was the Atlanta Falcons at No. 65 (up from 105 in 2018) with $4.71 million average salary. The highest ranked MLB team was the New York Yankees at No. 32 (up from 46 in 2018) with a $7.69 million average. The Yankees were the top-ranked team in the inaugural survey in 2012.

Among teams ranked 21 to 30 this year, nine are from the NBA, joined by German soccer champion Bayern Munich at No. 22.

Juventus was ranked No. 32 in 2017 but leapt to 10th place last year with the signing of Cristiano Ronaldo and other high-priced players.

The biggest risers in the latest survey were the NFL’s Buffalo Bills, who climbed 60 places from No. 152 to No. 92, and the MLB’s Atlanta Braves, up 59 spots from No. 123 to No. 64.

Four of the five biggest falls were recorded by Major League Baseball teams, including the Toronto Blue Jays, who are down 123 places to No. 172.