The NFL, NBA, and NHL all have a salary cap. This keeps teams from spending too much money – or forces them to spend more money if they are under the salary floor.
The only major sport to not have the salary cap is the Major League Baseball, and teams take advantage of that. On Thursday night, the Los Angeles Dodgers signed outfielder Kyle Tucker to a four-year, $240 million deal.
Tucker is a good baseball player. He is a four-time All-Star, two-time Silver Slugger, and a World Series champion. Last year, he hit .266 with 22 home runs and a 4.6 WAR. He had a good season, but not $60 million per year good.
With the Tucker signing, the Dodgers now have eight players on their roster with a contract worth over $100 million total, with Shoei Ohtani’s contract being for $700 million.
Due to their big spending, the Dodgers have won three World Series titles since 2020, and they are just getting better. The Dodgers are practically ruining baseball by doing this, as teams with small budgets cannot even compete.
There is no reason why baseball players should be getting this much money. Leon Draisaitl is the highest-paid NHL player, making $14 million AAV. Draisaitl is one of the best players in the league and deserves every dollar. But in baseball, Ha-Seong Kim signed a one-year, $20 million contract with the Braves this offseason, after hitting .234 and having a 0.3 WAR in 2025.
If MLB implements a salary cap, most players and teams would not be happy. Players will lose money, and teams like the Dodgers will lose more games. This will most likely result in a lockdown and a delay to the 2026 season.
But a salary cap would be good for baseball. It would give teams like the Pirates and Marlins a chance to compete. It would force all teams to spend some money – but not too much.
