For the first time since 2003, the Red Sox will not start the season with the second-highest payroll in the majors.

The Associated Press is reporting that the Red Sox opened the season with a payroll of $133,440,037, which is down $10 million from their Opening Day payroll last season and is the 4th highest in MLB. Not surprisingly, the Yankees are #1 in the payroll department with just over $209 million.

In every season since 2004, the Red Sox had been 2nd (behind the Yankees) in total payroll. This year, they're behind the Yankees, Tigers, and Mets. The Sox spent $143 million last season, and averaged about $123 million per year from 2004-06.

With a roster of mostly the same players from the 2007 season, you might be wondering why the 2008 Sox payroll is less than last year's...it is because in 2007, the team paid more than $15 million combined for Matt Clement (who never threw a pitch last season) and backup OF/CI/hat brim breaker Eric Hinske, neither of whom are on this year's roster.


For those that are interested, here is the complete top-10 list:
1) N.Y. Yankees -- $209,081,579
2) Detroit -- $138,685,197
3) New York Mets -- $138,293,378
4) Boston -- $133,440,037
5) Chicago White Sox -- $121,152,667
6) Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim -- $119,216,333
7) Chicago Cubs -- $118,595,833
8) Los Angeles Dodgers -- $118,536,038
9) Seattle -- $117,993,982
10) Atlanta -- $102,424,018


Also, for those of you that want to dig a little deeper into this, here is a link that will give you the payroll history for any team dating back 10 years and give you the breakdown for how much each individual player contributes to the overall number:
USATODAY.com