Owner Steve Cohen griped Tuesday about last year's 9.5% drop, so we asked a few fans their thoughts on the matter.

PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. — Mets owner Steve Cohen once again revealed that he’d eventually like to see his team stay below the “Cohen Tax.”

In search of their first World Series title since 1986, the Mets lost to the Dodgers in last year’s NL Championship Series. After signing Juan Soto and others, Cohen estimated his team’s payroll at $325 million.

After coming within two games of the World Series and then winning the offseason by landing right fielder Juan Soto to a 15-year, $765 million contract, the Mets have seen a “decent, significant percentage increase” in ticket sales, according to Cohen.

"I've always wanted to be a little more measured in payroll growth, and then we get there and it's never quite there,” Cohen said Tuesday.

PORT ST. LUCIE — Steve Cohen has visions of dropping below what even he wryly called on Tuesday the “Cohen Tax” threshold. I bet he believes the day is coming in the next few years when David Stearns has overseen a farm system that annually delivers difference makers and depth.

New York Mets owner Steve Cohen’s desire for a World Series title outweighs his wish to one day get beneath Major League Baseball’s “Cohen tax,” which is a 110% penalty for every dollar spent after surpassing the league’s fourth luxury tax threshold.