The Dodgers Don’t Have the Highest Payroll in Baseball — or the National League
Despite the narrative that the Los Angeles Dodgers are trying to buy a World Series or have spent like crazy, the team actually doesn’t have the highest payroll in MLB. In fact, their total payroll for the 2024 season doesn’t even rank in the top five.
According to Spotrac, the Dodgers have only the ninth-highest payroll in 2024 at $214,721,666. The New York Yankees, New York Mets, Houston Astros, Philadelphia Phillies, Toronto Blue Jays, Atlanta Braves, Texas Rangers and Chicago Cubs each have higher payrolls than the Dodgers for this upcoming season.
After the Dodgers, there is a huge drop-off to the 10th-highest payroll, with the St. Louis Cardinals having committed $164,301,667 to their 2024 roster.
The two New York teams by far have the highest payroll in MLB. The Yankees are first at $290,541,666 and the Mets are second at $283,801,859. The next-highest team has a payroll more than $45 million less than the Mets and Yankees; the Astros rank third at $237,303,141.
The Dodgers did have a huge offseason, investing a lot of money in several of their acquisitions. They signed designated hitter Shohei Ohtani to a record-breaking $700 million contract, but since the majority of the money is deferred, it’s kept their actual payroll down. The Dodgers also signed Yoshinobu Yamamoto to a 12 year, $325 million deal, and Tyler Glasnow to a five year, $136.56 million deal.
The Dodgers complemented these signings with some smaller deals, like a $7 million pact with pitcher James Paxton, a $4 million contract with utility player Kiké Hernández, and a $10 million deal for Clayton Kershaw.
The dominant narrative is true: the Dodgers were huge spenders this offseason, and their competitive balance tax will push their actual expenses higher than $215 million. However, it’s important to note the Dodgers’ several value signings, along with the eight other teams doing more to “buy a championship” in 2024.
Photo Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports
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isn’t that because Ohtani deferred all but 2 million a year?
Though the Dodgers are paying Ohtani $2 Miln each year for 10 years, they are obligated (and well-advised) to fund the downstream obligation to the tune of something like $47 Million each year. Since there is Wall Street ownership in the club (Guggenheim) they will likely find a way to grow that investment so that it can fund the 10 years of payments starting in year 11.