In recent years, Major League Baseball (MLB) has faced growing scrutiny over its financial structure: particularly the absence of a salary cap. This lack of regulation allows wealthier teams, such as the Mets, Yankees, and Dodgers to dominate the league, while broke teams stay at the bottom. This creates a disparity that undermines competition and diminishes the excitement of the game. Implementing a salary cap could level the playing field, ensuring that all teams have a fair chance to compete for the championship.
Currently, the MLB does not have any limitations on how much money they can spend on their roster and pay their players. According to Sporting News, “MLB does not have a hard salary cap. Unlike the NFL, NBA and NHL, MLB front offices can spend as much money as their pockets.” This financial freedom has led to a concentration of talent among a few wealthy teams. The New York Mets, Los Angeles Dodgers, and New York Yankees consistently rank among the highest payrolls, while smaller-market teams, such as the Oakland Athletics and Kansas City Royals struggle to keep up.
This past offseason, the Los Angeles Dodgers spent a pretty penny –or a couple pretty pennies– to bring in Shohei Ohtani for 700 million dollars over the course of 10 years (70 million per year). Meanwhile, the Oakland Athletics are spending only 66 million dollars on their entire roster. This contrasts to how the Dodgers spent another 136 million on their pitcher Tyler Glasgow, and 325 million on Japanese superstar, Yoshinobu Yamamoto. The Dodgers dropped over 1.1 billion dollars last offseason, dwarfing what many other teams in baseball are capable of spending.
As stated by the Northern Iowan, “If the MLB had a salary cap, it would be much easier for the smaller market teams to compete with the rest of the league, leading to more unpredictability. It would also be harder for some of the big market teams to sign all the young talent, preventing the ability to create super teams and creating competitive balance league wide.”
The difference is so severe that CBS Sports says, “at their current rate, it would take the Athletics slightly over 15 years to spend what the Dodgers did this offseason.” This level of financial difference widens an already giant gap in competition. As teams with lower budgets watch as the richest clubs accumulate their star players, simply because they can just pay more, the idea of a fair playing field goes out the window.
That being said, there should also be limitations on how little a team can spend. A minimum should also be put in place seeing as teams like the previously mentioned Oakland Athletics. They are far poorer than teams like the Mets or Dodgers and have been tanking by selling every somewhat valuable player they’ve had for over a decade; all to fund a big new stadium in Las Vegas. Because of this, the A’s entire fan base now essentially hates them, and they can barely scrounge up a measly 60-75 wins every year, leaving them in a very rough purgatory. New financial regulations would ideally prevent teams from spending too little with no intention of improving their team and disregarding their loyal fanbase, while simultaneously preventing big market teams from buying wins that other teams can’t.
The growing sentiment among fans and analysts alike is that the MLB needs reform. Jacob Marks, a WSHS student, believes that “Each team should have about the same amount of money that they are paying out to their players.” This sentiment is shared by fellow student Razpe Carlson saying “The MLB needs a salary cap at this point; the two best teams in baseball shouldn’t just be the two teams paying the most.”
The establishment of a salary cap in Major League Baseball is not just something needed for a fair playing field, but it’s essential for the future of the corporation. By fostering a more competitive environment through implementing fairer pay, baseball can reignite the passion of its fan base and ensure that every team has a fighting chance. It’s time for MLB to take a much-needed step towards parity; one that makes it just as realistic for a poorer team to compete with big money like the Yankees and Mets.
