by Connor Whalen ‘28 on October 30, 2005
Sports
With the Los Angeles Dodgers yet again reaching the World Series, baseball fans are growing tired of their constant annual success, and some are even calling for the MLB to take measures to prevent them from continuing their dynasty. The Dodgers’ expansive payroll has caused some to question the fairness between MLB organizations when constructing their rosters. Per Spotrac, the Dodgers had the highest payroll in baseball at $350 million for the 2025 season. The New York Mets, under Steve Cohen, the wealthiest owner in MLB, were a close second at $341 million; after those two teams, the dropoff is massive. The median payroll for this season was about $132 million—less than half of that of the Dodgers. The most mind-boggling fact about all of those statistics remains to be stated: the Dodgers’ payroll virtually does not even account for their Japanese two-way superstar, Shohei Ohtani. Ohtani is set to make only $2 million per year for every year in his stint with the Dodgers, before making $68 million per year the first 10 years after the contract’s expiration. The Dodgers deferring all of this owed money—and Ohtani’s surprising willingness to comply with that plan—allows them to pay the rest of their superstars like Mookie Betts, Freddie Freeman, Blake Snell, and Yoshinobu Yamamoto. The fact of the matter is, the Dodgers are the most expensive team in MLB, and there is not even a close second.
But what can be done to make the league fairer? It is important to note that MLB is intrinsically much different from other popular leagues like the NBA and NFL. The NFL operates under a hard salary cap, meaning there is a threshold that teams’ payrolls must stay under. The NBA does not have a hard cap, but has a soft cap, meaning teams can go above the limit if they pay a tax. The MLB operates under a similar system, but, while it works in the NBA, it is precisely why the MLB is so unfairly organized. The NBA features a rookie draft, in which teams with the lowest records have a chance to instantly bring in (potentially) franchise-altering talent. In the MLB, struggling franchises do not have the same opportunity. While they can add talent via the draft, MLB prospects need years to develop in the minor leagues, and many of these prospects never even see major-league action. In addition, NBA contracts are far shorter; maximum contracts typically last no more than five years, while MLB contracts can often last longer than 10 years. Without young talent coming in and instantly changing the projection of a franchise and with longer contracts keeping superstars with one franchise, MLB is set up to keep big market teams in a winning position and, adversely, small market teams in a losing position.
The Dodgers, because of their abundant financial resources, have the capacity to hand out plenty of those long-term contracts and pay the luxury tax every year. Then they proceed to lead the league in ticket sales and jersey sales, and reap a ridiculous profit despite their massive expenditures. The cycle continues; they attract the biggest stars, having the ability to pay them more than smaller franchises can afford, keep them in Dodger Blue for a decade or more, and then use the profit to bring in the next generation of stars to LA. Another recent development is the Dodgers’ monopoly on Japanese stars. Not only do the Dodgers attract already established stars in the MLB, but now—simply because of Ohtani’s presence—the biggest stars of Japan like Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Roki Sasaki, and Hyeseong Kim all want to play in LA.
Unfortunately, because of MLB’s setup, there does not seem to be a plausible solution to keep the Dodgers from building their dynasty. With players demanding increasingly ludicrous contracts, the MLB Players Association would never agree to the implementation of a salary cap, as franchises would be forced to be more attentive to their expenditures. The owners of big market clubs obviously would not be in favor either, as they will want to continue bringing in superstar talent whenever they please. The Dodgers’ power should be held in check; fans of other MLB clubs deserve better. Unfortunately, there seems to be no logical solution to fix the problem at the present moment.