In the last collective-bargaining agreement, MLB owners agreed to create a bonus pool of money to be paid to certain players not eligible for arbitration. Each team contributes $1,666,667 to the pool, making a total of $50 million to be distributed among eligible pre-arb players.

Pre-arb players eligible for this pool receive $2.5 million for the MVP or Cy Young Award and $1.75 million for second in the voting, $1.5 million for third, $1 million for fourth, fifth or making the all-MLB first team. Other awards include $750,000 for Rookie of the Year, $500,000 for second in Rookie of the Year voting or the all-MLB second team. Players receive money from this pool for only one award per year, for the highest amount eligible, and the remaining money is allocated by a WAR formula.

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