Checkbook please: Disparity in MLB payrolls grows after Dodgers' billion-dollar winter

LOS ANGELES − The Los Angeles Dodgers were paraded Thursday onto the lush green grass at Dodger Stadium, listening to the roar of the sellout crowd, hoping to show the baseball world that money indeed can go a long way towards buying a World Series championship. 

They opened the season with a $249.8 million player payroll, which soars past $300 million when factoring in Major League Baseball’s collective bargaining tax calculations. 

The guaranteed contracts for their top four hitters in the lineup − Mookie Betts, Shohei Ohtani, Freddie Freeman and Will Smith − is $1.367 billion. 

Including the salaries for their top two starters, Yoshinobu Yamamoto and Tyler Glasnow, who earn $461.56 million, they’ll have six players with larger guaranteed contracts ($1.82 billion) than the sales price of the entire Baltimore Orioles’ franchise ($1.725 billion). 

The Dodgers’ payroll is almost three times more than the four franchises in baseball, and nearly $200 more than the Oakland A’s. 

MLB SALARIES: Baseball's top 25 highest-paid players in 2024

But apologize? 

Uh-huh. 

“You know, people can get mad or say what they want, and say, 'They spent all the money,'" Dodgers three-time Cy Young winner Clayton Kershaw recently told USA TODAY. “Well, why don’t you guys do it too. Being an owner is a lucrative business, I don’t care what people say. Go do it, too.’’ 

• 2024 MLB salaries of every player on the Opening Day roster

The payroll disparity has never been greater in the sport with the New York Mets actually paying more money to players no longer on their roster ($70.3 million) than the entire total the A’s are paying for players on their team ($60.5 million). 

The New York Mets, New York Yankees and Dodgers are expected to exceed the $237 million luxury tax this season, with all having CBT payrolls above $300 million this season. Yet, there are five teams who had opening-day payrolls under $100 million, and 20 teams lower than $200 million, according to salaries obtained by USA TODAY Sports in its annual survey of opening day payrollls.

While more teams are willing to cross the luxury tax threshold than ever before, there still are 10 teams who will open the season with a lower payroll than a year ago. The San Diego Padres, who had the highest payroll in franchsie history last year, slashed their payroll by $86 million from $248.9 million to $161.9 million. 

There’s no greater payroll disparity than in the AL East and the NL East divisions, but as was proven last year, money doesn’t guarantee tickets to the October dance. 

The Yankees’ current $303.3 million payroll is more than three times the size of the Baltimore Orioles ($94.5 million), but while the Yankees missed the playoffs, the Orioles won the AL East with 101 victories. 

The Mets’ $305.6 million payroll dwarfs the Marlins ($97.2 million), but guess which team earned a wild-card berth last season and which stayed home. 

The most parity in baseball resides in the AL and NL Central Divisions where there’s not a single team projected to exceed the luxury tax. The Chicago Cubs ($213 million) are the only team among the 10 AL and NL Central teams with a payroll above $200 million.

“I think what it says is that it’s really just a reflection of market size," said Cardinals president John Mozeliak said. “I supposed you could always think about Chicago as the sleeping giant. If they decide to flex they can, but for the most part, the other four markets have a lot more similarities.’’ 

Just $49 million separates the largest-salaried team (Chicago White Sox, $142.4 million) and the smallest (Cleveland, $93.3 million) in the AL Central. 

The other four divisions, well, there’s never been a larger payroll difference in baseball history. 

“It’s tough, we experienced it a little bit in 2015-2016-2017 with the Cubs," Mozeliak said, “but having these coastal teams that have much more flexibility or power with their payroll, it can be one of the unfortunate parts of our business. 

“Some teams can spend. Some can’t. People get upset with teams when they’re not spending, but unfortunately when you look at how our salary structures are put together in this league, we’re not all created equal."

The game still is played on the field, but, hey, the Dodgers won’t lie. 

It’s nice to be rich. 

“There’s no better organization that’s more committed to winning a World Series," said Dodgers catcher Will Smith, who signed a 10-year, $140 million contract extension Wednesday, “and that’s the most important thing to me when it comes to baseball.’’ 

The Dodgers have the checkbook to prove it. 

Follow Nightengale on X: @Bnightengale