NEW YORK — Even before the first pitch of the 2015 season is thrown, an eye-popping baseball record will be set.

The average salary when opening-day rosters are finalized Sunday will break the $4 million benchmark for the first time, according to a study of all major league contracts by The Associated Press. Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw tops players at $31 million and Los Angeles projects to open the season with a payroll at about $270 million, easily a record.

“We’re enjoying a tremendously bountiful season in baseball,” said Toronto pitcher R.A. Dickey.

Fueled by the largest two-year growth in more than a decade, the average salary projects to be about $4.25 million, according to the AP study, with the final figure depending on how many players are put on the disabled list before the first pitch is thrown. That is up from $3.95 million on the first day of last season and $3.65 million when 2013 began.

“MLB’s revenues have grown in recent years, with the increase in national and local broadcast rights fees being a primary contributor,” said Dan Halem, MLB’s chief legal officer. “It is expected that player compensation will increase as club revenues increase.”

Baseball’s average was approximately $50,000 in 1976, the last year before free agency. Back then, many players took offseason jobs to pay their bills.

Now almost all of them do their heavy lifting in gyms, not warehouses.

The average broke the $1 million mark in 1992, topped $2 million in 2001 and reached $3 million in 2008.