Major League Baseball is now using the Los Angeles Dodgers as the main reason to limit team spending. This is a huge change from last year, when the baseball commissioner praised the team for spending big money to win. The Dodgers won their second World Series in a row. Now, they are stuck in the middle of a growing fight between the league and the players. This fight got worse in May 2026. The MLB Players Association (MLBPA) suggested a new money plan. The league said no right away, pointing straight at Los Angeles.

The difference in spending between teams is massive. In 2025, the Dodgers spent around $515 million, while the Miami Marlins spent around $69 million. That’s around a $446 million payroll gap. In fact, the Dodgers’ payroll last year was larger than the Guardians, White Sox, Pirates, Athletics, Tampa Bay Rays, and Marlins combined. Now, MLB owners are using these exact numbers to try to force a “salary cap” on team spending.

“We shouldn’t be the reason why they propose something like that,” veteran infielder Miguel Rojas echoed. “It is annoying.”

The labor fight grew hotter recently. The MLBPA proposed a new rule to force small-market teams to spend more money. They wanted a minimum team payroll of $150 million. MLB quickly rejected the idea.

“The MLBPA’s proposal would reduce the amount transferred to lower-revenue Clubs, weaken the Competitive Balance Tax, and lead to even more payroll disparity than exists today. For example, under the Union, the Dodgers would pay less in luxury tax payments. It gives them an additional $70 million to spend on payroll.” MLB cited the Dodgers in countering MLBPA’s demand to increase the luxury tax threshold and implement a salary floor.

Inside the Dodgers locker room, players feel punished for trying to win.

“Of course they’re always gonna go after the people spending the most,” said catcher Will Smith.

According to the MLBPA and the Dodgers clubhouse, the Dodgers should ideally be promoted as the best example of how an MLB team should operate. The teams spending less should be disciplined to spend more, and not limit the teams already spending.

What’s more surprising is that MLB commissioner Rob Manfred praised the Dodgers’ spending habits last year.

“The Dodgers have gone out and done everything possible, always within the rules that currently exist, to put the best possible team on the field,” Manfred said last year. “I think that’s a great thing for the game. That type of competitive spirit is what people want to see.”

LA clubhouse wonders what made MLB now cite them to push their salary cap agenda. However, this hints at an upcoming intense battle in the coming months. MLBPA’s former head, Tony Clarke, called the salary cap an “institutionalized collusion” last year. MLB, on the other hand, is pushing hard to bring equality by capping the upper payroll limit. It indicates a labour battle that could lead to a lockout, and the Dodgers are unfortunately caught in the crossfire.

However, MLB may still be failing to see where the Dodgers’ competitiveness lies.

The Dodgers’ USP lies elsewhere

The Dodgers make a massive amount of money from a special television deal. It is a 25-year contract worth $8.35 billion. This deal protects them while other teams struggle as local TV networks go bankrupt. Usually, MLB takes a large cut of a team’s TV money to share with smaller teams. But the Dodgers found a massive loophole

“The first big turning point came when the Dodgers partnered with Time Warner Cable to launch SportsNet LA. But because the Dodgers had just gone bankrupt and MLB wanted to help one of their historic franchises get better, there was an exception in the contract,” sports journalist Joon Lee reported.

Back in 2011, LA filed for bankruptcy. The league agreed to lock the media rights in a fair market value. This means their tax bill is not based on their actual $8.35 billion deal.

Because of this loophole, the team keeps an additional $66 million every year. The contract runs through 2038 with an average annual value of $334 million, vastly out-earning smaller-market teams that make less than $40 million a year.

MLB could alter something here if the Dodgers’ financial dominance needs to be controlled. But how they reacted could bring the entire league to a standstill.