CAMDEN HURST ~ sport's blog: Fixing Competitive Imbalances in Major League Baseball

Ten biggest contracts in MLB history: Juan Soto's $765 million with Mets tops list | FOX Sports

Image depicts the top five highest paid MLB players of all time according to MLB.com and Fox Sports.

Unlike the NFL and the NBA, Major League Baseball has yet to introduce a salary cap to their organizations. This leads to major payroll gaps between big market teams such as the New York Yankees or the Los Angeles Dodgers, and small market teams such as the Tampa Bay Rays (see accompanying chart below).

Even though big-name players benefit from the massive contracts being presented to them, entire organizations struggle to stay competitive due to their financial limitations. Because of this, Major League Baseball is seeing repetitive success amongst certain teams, which is pushing fans away from enjoying the game. Predictability is one of the biggest weaknesses in the MLB. In order to ensure that Major League Baseball is able to stay competitive for the long-term, it would be logical to implement a salary cap similar to other professional sports leagues.

Due to the lack of a salary cap in the current MLB system, financially wealthy teams are able to outspend teams that do not bring in enough cashflow. For example, the New York Mets currently have a $323,099,999 payroll while the Miami Marlins have only a $67,412,619 payroll.

The large payroll gap means that teams that are bringing in more money are able to invest in big-name All-Stars, while the teams that are bringing in less money have to rely on prospects and hope that they will begin to develop to the level required to play in the MLB. Even if these prospects do end up developing to a higher level, they are often lost to trades or free-agency.

Many may argue that money does not win a World Series, but it sure does help.

Juan Soto signed a $765,000,000 contract with the New York Mets in 2024.

Introducing a salary cap would essentially limit how much a team is allocated to spend on player salaries. It has proven to work well in the NFL, NHL, and the NBA, where salary caps are enforced and small market teams are able to contest against other organizations more often. Obviously there are always going to be teams with stronger players, better development, and better results, but a salary cap does everything that it can to ensure fairness amongst teams.

If a salary cap were enforced, the MLB would have to rely more on developing the prospects in their own farm system, and coaching their team rather than paying for players that have already been developed elsewhere. Major League Baseball needs to rely more on their own strengths as a franchise, rather than paying for strength and skill.

Individuals may argue that a salary cap could hurt teams with financial advantages. Many people think that if teams are bringing in more revenue from fans, they should be able to spend it how they choose to. However, baseball is not strictly a business. If Major League Baseball wants continuous interest in their league, they will have to do something that will decrease predictability.

Other people argue that a salary cap would interfere with a players potential, but other leagues still sign massive contracts to players that deserve it, they just have a well balanced system. $765,000,000 contracts are not evidence of a well balanced system.

The 2024 World Series featured the NY Yankees and the LA Dodgers.

With Major League Baseball already losing viewership, if fans think that the league is "unfair" or "predictable", they are even less likely to tune in or purchase game tickets. After all, who wants to watch a game that they already feel they know the outcome of? Introducing an even playing field would bring more excitement to the league and increase fanbases.

Imagine watching a World Series matchup that nobody would have ever expected? One that doesn't include the Los Angeles Dodgers or the New York Yankees for the 41st time.

While Major League Baseball has attempted to solve this issue by introducing a "luxury tax", which is essentially a tax that organizations have to pay if they go over the payroll limit, it has not been 100% successful. Most teams that are financially stable enough to spend these large dollar amounts on players do not mind paying the luxury tax to continue their processes. After all, they are the wealthiest teams right? A luxury tax is nothing compared to what they are already spending.

The leagues lack of a salary cap has made the entire sport too predictable. Many fans are opting to watch collegiate baseball rather than professional baseball because it is less predictable which draws fans attention. By implementing a salary cap, Major League Baseball would stop frustrating their fans and create an even playing field among their organizations that makes the game less predictable and more interesting to watch.

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