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The SF Giants stayed comfortably under the luxury tax in 2026

No penalty
ByJeff Young
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Apr 25, 2026; San Francisco, California, USA; San Francisco Giants president of baseball operations Buster Posey (right) and former first baseman Brandon Belt (left) hug before the game against the Miami Marlins at Oracle Park. Mandatory Credit: Darren Yamashita-Imagn Images
Apr 25, 2026; San Francisco, California, USA; San Francisco Giants president of baseball operations Buster Posey (right) and former first baseman Brandon Belt (left) hug before the game against the Miami Marlins at Oracle Park. Mandatory Credit: Darren Yamashita-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

The official Competitive Balance Tax (CBT) numbers will come out later this offseason, but the current numbers are reliable. In 2026, Cot's estimates that the SF Giants committed $224.1 million against the luxury tax, well below the $244 CBT threshold.

It marks the second straight year that the Giants stayed under the luxury tax. The last time that they crossed it was in 2024, when they set a franchise record by committing $249.1 million against the luxury tax.

That came in Farhan Zaidi's final season as the head of the front office. He spent aggressively in the months leading up to that season. The goal was to put together a competitive team, but also to make a case to keep his job. Neither goal was accomplished, and the Giants parted ways with him at the end of the year.

The SF Giants stayed below the luxury tax in 2026, but still have a lot of guaranteed contracts for next season

The Giants still ran a relatively high payroll in 2026. They had hopes of sneaking into the playoff picture, but those hopes were dashed almost as soon as the season began. The Giants only won 65 games and spent more per win than most teams in baseball.

The penalties for crossing the luxury tax are relatively minor. Normally, teams pay a tax on the overage. Those penalties do become harsher if a team is a repeat offender, such as a the Los Angeles Dodgers.

A luxury-tax-paying team also faces a stiffer penalty for signing a player who rejects a qualifying offer. That normally results in the loss of a team's second-and-third-highest picks and $1 million in international bonus pool money.

Assuming that the luxury tax threshold remains in place, the Giants will yet again avoid any penalties by staying below that mark. Nonetheless, they will begin the offseason with a relatively high starting point for payroll. This is due largely to the number of guaranteed contracts that they have on the books.

Rafael Devers leads that group with a luxury tax hit of $27.4 million. Matt Chapman, Logan Webb, Willy Adames, and Jung Hoo Lee are not far behind. Adrian Houser and Harrison Bader are also under guaranteed contracts for 2027. Of course, it remains to be seen how the Giants handle Bader next season, if he is even still with the club. In total, the Giants have about $136.7 million committed in guranteed contracts for next season.

They began this season with about $230 million committed against the luxury tax. They left some space below the luxury tax in case they needed to take on salary at the trade deadline. That did not come to fruition, as they traded nearly every player on an expiring deal.

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