MLB Draft 2023 Signing Bonus by Round: How much do players make after being signed?

The 2023 MLB Draft is nearing its conclusion with hundreds of prospects being selected by clubs across the league. Not every pick will opt to sign with the club that drafted them for various reasons, including low salaries and previous commitments to universities. However, depending on where a player is drafted could be the difference between generational wealth and a minimal deal.

For those unaware of the contractual rules of the MLB Draft, the concept is relatively simple. Every pick in the draft comes with a value, with the top pick coming with the highest level of available signing bonus and each subsequent selection decreasing in value. Things can get complicated, however, when it comes to the team's bonus pool.

"Congratulations to former @eltorobaseball and @AF_Baseball RHP Paul Skenes on being selected No. 1 overall (slot value: $9.721 million) in the 2023 MLB Draft by the @Pirates! Skenes had a historic season this year helping lead @LSUbaseball to the national title." - @ShotgunSprD1

This season, the Pittsburgh Pirates' first overall pick had a bonus value of $9,721,000, which they could use to help sign LSU pitcher Paul Skenes. However, even though the pick has a slot value of $9,721,000, the team can go above that number in order to sign their player, although it could cause an issue later when signing their MLB Draft selections.

Doing this affects the rest of a team's bonus pool, which is the amount that a team can spend on their first 10 picks. This can come into play when trying to sign their other MLB Draft selections without incurring a penalty.

"O's welcome top pick Holliday with $8.19M bonus: The Baltimore Orioles introduced No. 1 overall pick Jackson Holliday, who signed a contract Wednesday with an $8.19 million signing bonus." - @JCPGATA

The Pittsburgh Pirates may not need to use all of the $9,721,000 signing bonus to secure Paul Skenes to a contract, which was the case in 2022 with the Baltimore Orioles and Jackson Holliday.

The first overall pick in 2022 had a slot value of $8,846,900, however, Holliday's signing bonus turned out to be $8,190,000, which was the second-highest of all time.

A look at some of the slot values for the first pick of each round of the 2023 MLB Draft

The slot values for each pick change with every draft, with this season being $9,721,000, nearly $1,000,000 more than in 2022, which was valued at $8,846,900. Here is a closer look at some of the slot values in this year's draft.

• Pick 1 - $9,721,000
• Pick 2 - $8,998,500
• Pick 3 - $8,341,700
• Pick 4 - $7,698,000
• Pick 5 - $7,139,700

"Here are the complete bonus pools for each team in the 2023 draft, as well as slot values for the top 10 round picks.The Pirates have the largest bonus pool at $16,185,700 and the first overall pick comes with a slot value of $9,721,000" - @CarlosACollazo

The top five picks are drastically higher than the rounds that follow. Here is a closer look at the slot value for the first pick in each of the remaining nine rounds.

• Pick 40 (Second Round) - $2,144,700
• Pick 71 (Third Round) - $1,021,300
• Pick 102 (Fourth Round) - $660,000
• Pick 138 (Fifth Round) - $464,400
• Pick 165 (Sixth Round) - $357,500
• Pick 195 (Seventh Round) - $278,400
• Pick 225 (Eighth Round) - $219,700
• Pick 255 (Ninth Round) - $185,800
• Pick 285 (Tenth Round) - $172,100

Spencer Torkelson of the Detroit Tigers received the highest signing bonus in MLB history, landing $8,416,300 as the first overall pick in the 2020 draft. It remains to be seen if Paul Skenes will top that number. No player has signed for over $9,000,000.