The MLB fandom has been shaken to its core at the moment. Following the Dodgers’ acquisition of the high-profile free agency star Kyle Tucker, things have been looking pretty murky. With no upper limit on the salary cap, Los Angeles is playing quite an evil game. Signing Tucker for a $240 million, four-year contract not only flexed their financial muscles but also opened Pandora’s box of woes. And interestingly, it is the MLB that unknowingly helped the Dodgers become such a financial giant. 

Back in 2012, things were not at all rosy for the Dodgers. Following Frank McCourt’s illicit usage of the club funds to aid his divorce, the MLB franchise stared down at bankruptcy. Thankfully, coming to their rescue, the league made quite a lenient and profitable rule for the Los Angeles franchise. It was decided that from the 2013 season onwards, the Dodgers would be entitled to “treat their media revenue as a maximum of $84 million for revenue-sharing purposes.”

But that’s not all. There was a big catch. In addition to the abovementioned deal, the Dodgers would also see the figure grow by 4% for the next 25 years! Quickly, within four years, the Dodgers decided to rectify the folly of their ways. Unfortunately, even after adjusting the initial amount to $130 million, the changes looked quite minuscule. Take, for example, their TV deal with Spectrum. 

Over the period of 25 years, the deal’s valuation will be a whopping $8.35 billion. Which amounts to a mind-boggling $334 million yearly!

So this structure basically allows teams like the Dodgers to legally underreport their true earnings. It significantly lowers what they owe to MLB’s revenue-sharing pool, despite generating a much higher income.

Secondly, with local revenues of almost 48% teams being shared, the Dodgers are pocketing $60 million per year, evading taxes. In what was a shocking revelation, the Dodgers were able to save the entire deferred payment of Shohei Ohtani, which amounted to $68 million! 

This is the second loophole. Since the revenue collected is redistributed equally rather than based on competitive effort, why would teams have a higher ambition? Because either way, the teams will be rewarded.

And if this trend continues with the CBA remaining unchanged, the LA-based franchise will cross the $1 billion mark in cumulative savings in just the maiden year of the latest deal. Thus, with things looking pretty concerning, a further breakup of Dodger’s payroll will unearth some more shockers. 

LA Dodgers will have an insane payroll for this season

The Dodgers will be fielding a rich team this year. Literally. After signing Tucker for $240 million for four years, the Dodgers now have eight players earning over $100 million. Hitting a jackpot, Tucker will be entitled to $60 million a year, which is just $10 million below Ohtani’s $70 million ($68 million deferred).

And accumulating the roster’s salaries, the overall payroll is expected to break the $400 million mark. $413 million to be precise. 

Fun fact, while one can justify that Ohtani is getting the big checks, bringing in a significant revenue, things are not the same with Tucker. Initially, the star MLB athlete was projected to choose between the Blue Jays and the Mets. With a proposal of $50 million, it looked like New York was nudging ahead. 

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Sadly, for Steve Cohen and his team, the Dodgers bulldozed the Mets’ hopes, sending the MLB fans into a frenzy. At the moment, while the Dodgers will be aiming for more championships with their star-studded team, the remainder of the league will eagerly pray for a new and revised CBA to clip LA’s wings soon.