Shohei Ohtani signed for $700 million with Dodgers

Shohei Ohtani's recent blockbuster contract with the Los Angeles Dodgers, a staggering 10-year, $700 million deal, catapults him to the summit as the highest-paid athlete in North American sports history. However, this eye-watering agreement has cast a glaring spotlight on the inherent flaws within baseball's existing structure.

Unlike its counterparts in the big four leagues, Major League Baseball (MLB) operates without a salary cap or a salary floor, contributing to a chronic imbalance in competitive dynamics. The league's landscape is dominated by teams owned by billionaires who dictate the rules, making it challenging to sympathize with their supposed struggles. Yet, deals like Ohtani's underscore the widening gap on the baseball field, illustrating a growing disparity that shows no signs of abating.

Breaking down Ohtani's contract reveals an annual sum of $70 million, surpassing the entire 2024 payrolls of eight MLB teams, according to Spotrac. Notably, it nearly matches the combined payrolls of both the Baltimore Orioles ($42.8 million) and Las Vegas Athletics ($38.6 million). This acquisition comes on the heels of the Dodgers' staggering $222.78 million expenditure on their 2023 roster. For smaller-market and mid-tier teams, the question arises: how can they realistically compete?

While increased spending doesn't guarantee success, recent examples like the New York Mets demonstrate that it does provide a substantial advantage. The Dodgers aren't to blame for the financial disparity across the league, preventing other teams from even dreaming of signing a player like Ohtani. Nevertheless, it underscores a fundamental issue in baseball that needs addressing – one that can only be rectified by compelling owners to invest in their teams.

Implementing a salary cap, after years of unchecked spending, might be a hard sell. However, establishing a salary floor could be a more acceptable compromise, potentially rescuing baseball from its current unsustainable trajectory. While occasional underdog success stories do occur, they are infrequent. Baseball often takes a backseat in cities where other professional sports thrive, fading away in places like Cincinnati, Kansas City, and Pittsburgh. This trend is likely to persist unless MLB and its owners take decisive action to address the systemic issues at play.