Seven Dodgers Payroll Facts That Will Make You Reconsider a Salary Cap

The Dodgers made another splash in free agency on Thursday as they convinced Kyle Tucker to sign a four-year, $240 million contract. Tucker, a 27-year old, four-time All-Star who has won Silver Slugger and Gold Glove awards during his career, is now the second highest paid player in baseball on a per-year basis, behind only his new teammate Shohei Ohtani.

Los Angeles’s latest signing quickly inspired eye rolls and calls for a salary cap because they just won back-to-back World Series and then immediately out-spent everyone again. You can understand why fans might be annoyed.

But instead of complaining, you should appreciate greatness. No other sports team in the world is currently as great as the Dodgers at spending money. In the words of Ron Burgundy, just be impressed with the sheer amount of cheese.

The numbers are staggering and it's actually funny when you do a little math to try and understand just how silly this situation is.

7+1=8

Eight. That’s how many players Los Angeles has signed to deals worth more than $100 million. In addition to Tucker and Ohtani you’ve got Mookie Betts, Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Blake Snell, Freddie Freeman, Will Smith and Tyler Glasnow on huge deals.

13+1=14

That’s the number of players on the Dodgers who will make over $10 million this season. That includes all the players mentioned above plus Edwin Díaz, Teoscar Hernández, Tanner Scott, Tommy Edman, Blake Treinen and Max Muncy.

The Marlins, Guardians, Rays, Athletics, White Sox and Pirates have 11 combined.

403 = Forbidden

That's the number you may see when you try to visit Spotrac today because so many people are looking up Los Angeles’s payroll.

Spotrac 403 error message — Footage not found. | spotrac.com

413 > 317

The Dodgers projected payroll for the 2026 season is currently $413,597,413 after the Tucker signing. The next highest salaried team in baseball, the Mets, who missed out on Tucker, trail them by nearly $100 million with a projected payroll of $317,018,064.

New York, the Blue Jays and Phillies are the only other teams with payrolls over $300 million. For any of those teams to get close to Los Angeles’s payroll, they’d have to add the entire Marlins roster, which is set to make $100,146,666 this season.

Tax season is approaching

The Dodgers’ current estimated tax bill for next season is over $161 million. Twelve teams—the Marlins, Rays, Guardians, White Sox, Twins, Pirates, Nationals, Cardinals, Rockies, Athletics, Reds and Brewers—all currently have payrolls of less than what Los Angeles will be paying in luxury tax next season.

And while that may seem like a steep tax bill, it's still less than the $201 million the Mets, Blue Jays, Phillies, Yankees, Red Sox, Padres, Braves, Cubs and Astros will pay ... combined. No other team has to pay the luxury tax.

7-1

That was the Dodgers combined record in the National League Division Series and National League Championship Series as they beat the Phillies and Brewers to reach their second consecutive World Series.

Philadelphia, which won a single game, is projected to have a $311 million payroll this season. Milwaukee, which was swept, is on the hook for just $155 million this season.

Defer, defer, defer

The Dodgers have more than two billion dollars on the books, inlcuding more than a billion in defered money. Shohei Ohtani will be on the books through 2043. Edwin Díaz, the closer they just poached from the Mets, has deferred money through ‘47.

(for clarity, this includes combined salary owed from 2026-2047)
— Spotrac (@spotrac) January 16, 2026

Los Angeles is going to be paying Edwin Díaz in 2047. There will be guys on that same payroll who are not yet born. Three franchises—the Marlins, Rays and Twins—have clean books as soon as 2029.