Latest Graphic Shows Dodgers Aren't The Problem In Terms of MLB's Spending

The Los Angeles Dodgers have been the face of spending big in sports for far too long.

It is certainly a true assessment that the Dodgers spare no expense when looking to acquire talent — and this past offseason only confirmed what so many believe — but much to the surprise of the baseball world, L.A. is not leading the league in terms of spending compared to revenue.

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Last year, the Dodgers were not the team with the highest payroll. In fact, the Dodgers weren't even the team with the highest payroll in the World Series.

The New York Mets led the league with a total payroll of $317 million last season. The New York Yankees followed with $314 million.

It may even seem like the Dodgers had a roster on a budget given those figures, but the eventual World Champions only spent $265 million on the team's payroll last year.

As for this current season, Brooks Gate took each team's revenue from last season plus their 2025 payroll to figure out what percent the payroll-to-revenue is.

The results may shock non-Dodgers fans.

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The Dodgers 2024 revenue was $752 million and their league-leading payroll this season (including the luxury tax) is $549 million. This payroll-to-revenue percentage is second in the league at 73 percent.

The New York Mets, on the other hand, made $444 in revenue last season, and have a current payroll including luxury tax of $400 million. This makes their payroll-to-revenue percentage 90 percent.

how much revenue each MLB team generated last year, and how much of that is going towards their payroll this year pic.twitter.com/UAZmHhaR8a
— BrooksGate (@Brooks_Gate) March 29, 2025

The Dodgers surely made enough money last season to spend even more, but the kind of spending L.A. dishes out is more calculated than it is frivolous. Especially with the outcome of 2024, the Dodgers will keep spending smart money.

The jump from the Mets to the Dodgers is a significant percentage, but the ratio at which L.A. spends not just on the player's salaries, but stadium and clubhouse renovations are just one of the many areas that keep the Dodgers an elite organization all around.

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For more Dodgers news, head over to Dodgers on SI.