A night game at Dodgers Stadium. Photo courtesy of Creative Commons.

In the upcoming 2026 Major League Baseball (MLB) season, the Dodgers are on track to spend $413.6 million on total payroll, according to Yahoo Sports. To put that into perspective, that is more than the Marlins, Guardians, Pirates, White Sox and Rays are set to spend on their players–combined. The Dodgers are spending the most money, getting the best players, and winning the most games. This is unfair to the fans, and it’s ruining baseball.

Unlike other professional sports leagues like the National Basketball Association (NBA) and National Football League (NFL), the MLB does not use a salary cap to limit team spending. Instead, it uses the luxury tax. Rather than having a limit for the amount a team can spend, the luxury tax penalizes teams for exceeding a set payroll threshold. While the luxury tax fines teams that go over the limit, it does not stop them from doing so if they can absorb the fines. 

The luxury tax allows well funded teams like the Dodgers to pay significantly more money than other teams because they can afford the financial penalties. Without a set salary cap, there is nothing to prevent rich teams like the Dodgers from consistently outperforming poor teams. As they can pay top dollar for the best players and coaches. This has negative consequences for the fans. 

 Many of the games are less competitive and therefore less entertaining. When teams like the Dodgers are blowing out other teams and constantly winning, the excitement of the game is lost. There is also the question of basic fairness, which is important in sports. It is not equitable for certain teams to have such a significant financial and competitive advantage.    

The MLB’s collective bargaining agreement is set to end on Dec. 1, 2026. A collective bargaining agreement is a contract negotiated between MLB team owners and players. It includes terms like salary, benefits, and working conditions. ESPN reported that once the agreement ends, team owners will “push for a salary cap, knowing it could cost the whole 2027 season.” On the other hand, many players and their unions oppose strict salary caps because they want to maximize their earnings. 

As a result, this battle between players and owners is unlikely to be resolved anytime soon, and an MLB lockout is a serious risk. A lockout occurs when a collective bargaining agreement expires without a new deal, and all league business stops. Lockouts have happened only a few times in MLB history, but when initiated they have been very detrimental to the game. If games are not being played, money and jobs are lost. Baseball fans also lose the sport they love.

The solution is simple from a fan perspective: create a salary cap and reach a new agreement before the 2027 season starts. To do this, team owners and players must act now by making progress with negotiations. 

Former Yankees manager Joe Torre stated that “the Dodgers are doing things right” and that people “pay their way to see how good they are and how well they play.” But while watching a superteam may be entertaining, that benefit is greatly outweighed by the downsides of having no salary cap.

Sports are at their best when played on an even playing field. That is not happening right now in the MLB. If the MLB team owners and players care about their fans, a deal on the collective bargaining agreement needs to be made soon, and it needs to include a salary cap. If not, it will be another boring season of Dodgers domination.