Significance Protein phosphorylation and degradation drive critical events in early embryogenesis and the cell cycle; however, comprehensive and accurate analysis of these changes is currently difficult. Using a mass-spectrometric approach, we present a quantitative view of the protein and posttranslational economy of the fertilization response in the frog egg. Protein degradation affects a small but very important class of proteins, while regulatory phosphorylation and protein release occur on a far larger scale. We have developed broadly applicable analytical methods for phosphorylation that provide absolute quantification with confidence intervals for improved interpretability of posttranslational modification analysis.