According to information derived from Baseball Prospectus, the Royals will begin with an Opening Day payroll just over $137 million. According to AP estimates, the Royals will fall near the middle of payrolls, ranking 15th in baseball.
| Player | 2016 Salary |
| Alex Gordon | $12,000,000 |
| Edinson Volquez | $9,500,000 |
| Kendrys Morales | $9,000,000 |
| Jason Vargas | $8,500,000 |
| Eric Hosmer | $8,250,000 |
| Wade Davis | $8,000,000 |
| Salvador Perez | $8,000,000 |
| Omar Infante | $7,750,000 |
| Ian Kennedy | $7,500,000 |
| Joakim Soria | $7,000,000 |
| Lorenzo Cain | $6,500,000 |
| Mike Moustakas | $5,600,000 |
| Luke Hochevar | $5,500,000 |
| Kris Medlen | $5,500,000 |
| Alcides Escobar | $5,250,000 |
| Chris Young | $4,250,000 |
| Danny Duffy | $4,225,000 |
| Kelvin Herrera | $2,550,000 |
| Mike Minor | $2,000,000 |
| Dillon Gee | $2,000,000 |
| Jarrod Dyson | $1,725,000 |
| Tim Collins | $1,475,000 |
| Yordano Ventura | $1,200,000 |
| Drew Butera | $1,162,500 |
| Chien-Ming Wang | $1,000,000 |
| Christian Colon | $518,425 |
| Paulo Orlando | $514,250 |
| Terrance Gore | $507,500 |
| Reymond Fuentes | $507,500 |
| Total | $137,485,175 |
Not included are buyouts payments to players whose contract options were declined - $3.