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The manager of the two-time defending World Series champions and the most expensive team in baseball history is in favor of limiting player salaries. Los Angeles Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said he would support a salary cap, with the caveat that it comes with a salary floor. Â
“You know what? I’m all right with (a salary cap),” Roberts said during an appearance on Amazon Prime’s “Good Sports.” “I think the NBA has done a nice job of revenue sharing with the players and the owners. But if you’re going to kind of suppress spending at the top, I think that you got to raise the floor to make those bottom-feeders spend money too.”
As our R.J. Anderson explained, MLB’s owners have pushed for a salary cap since the 19th century, and they will do so again when the collective bargaining agreement expires next Dec. 1. The league regularly cites competitive balance — the Dodgers were MLB’s first back-to-back champs in a quarter-century — and unverifiable claims of financial hardship as the reason behind their efforts.
A salary floor is a necessary part of the conversation, not a concession. The MLB Players Association has resisted a salary cap to date and the smart money is on them doing so again next year, but any discussion of a salary cap that does not include a salary floor is a non-starter. From there, MLB and the MLBPA have to agree to what constitutes revenue, which would be another major battle.
The Dodgers had a $415 million payroll for competitive balance tax purposes in 2025, per Cot’s Baseball Contracts, which is a $62 million increase from their 2024 payroll and $40 million clear of the previous record (the 2023 New York Mets). That $415 million payroll will come with a $167 million or so competitive balance tax bill, so, all-in, it was a $582 million team.
Roberts, who is baseball’s highest paid manager at $8.1 million per season, poked fun at those who criticized the Dodgers for their spending after the club swept the small-market Milwaukee Brewers in the NLCS, saying, “Before the season started, they said the Dodgers are ruining baseball. Let’s get four more wins and really ruin baseball!”