Mick dateline='[url=tel:1792266400' Wrote: 1792266400[/url]']
Giants dateline='[url=tel:1792253713' Wrote: 1792253713[/url]']
Mick dateline='[url=tel:1792251831' Wrote: 1792251831[/url]']
I'm thinking more about the future payment bubble As of October 2026, the Los Angeles Dodgers have deferred compensation agreements with 10 players, totaling approximately $1.095 billion in future payments extending through 2047. Here are the 10 players and their reported deferred amounts:
Shohei Ohtani, $680 million
Mookie Betts, $115 million
Blake Snell, $66 million
Freddie Freeman, $57 million
Will Smith, $50 million
Kyle Tucker, $30 million
Tommy Edman, $25 million
Teoscar Hernández, $23.5 million
Tanner Scott, $21 million
Edwin Díaz, $13.5 million
LA rakes in $334 million/year (through 2038) from their local television contract. I don’t think their future obligations are a concern.
The current player contract expires at 11:59 p.m. on December 1, 2026, at which point the owners will lock out the players.
The owners #1 demand is a salary cap. Do you think all the voting owners are happy with the Dodgers' circumvention of large-scale payouts this year and will make the Dodgers pay for it in years to come? Would the owners like to take a piece of the DOdgers' $850 million revenue stream? My guess is yes, that will happen.
The DOdgers' annual revenue increased 55% between 2023 and 2025. Here's the breakdown:
Local television: $334 mms.
Tickets/club seating/gate: $293 mms.
Corporate sponsorships; over $200 mms.
That doesn't include national MLB broadcasting and league distributions; concessions, food & beverages; parking; merchandise and licensing; playoffs tours, other stadium activities, etc. The other owners will want a piece and they will want to enforce a salary cap on the Dodgers, and they will lock out the players and use scabs.
The players have consistently refused to agree to a salary cup. Why would they move off that position this time?
Heck, we are on the verge of a World Series between two small market clubs. A salary cap is just an excuse that is used by teams that aren’t competitive because they have poor leadership. That isn’t going to change with or without a cap.
Since I am adamantly against the idea of a cap, I have my fingers crossed that the players will beat the owners on this issue.