The Los Angeles Dodgers added to their already-star studded roster last week when they signed the biggest free agent name on the offseason market. Kyle Tucker now joins forces with the team that has already won back-to-back World Series titles, and the Dodgers are heavy favorites to pull off the first three-peat that the MLB has seen in 26 years.
With elite talent covering the entire roster, one would think that the team’s payroll must be astronomical.
It isn’t. Not this year, at least.
Dodgers Paying Ohtani & Tucker A Combined $3 Million In 2026
In 2026, the Dodgers will actually be paying just $3 million in cash salaries to two of their biggest stars, Shohei Ohtani and Kyle Tucker. Ohtani’s official salary is $2 million this year with $68 million deferred to the far future, while Tucker will earn a $1 million salary in 2026 alongside a $64 million signing bonus due before spring training.
The Dodgers are paying a grand total of $3 million in actual salaries this season to Shohei Ohtani and Kyle Tucker.
Ohtani is being paid $2 million with $68 million deferred.
Tucker is being paid a $1 million salary with a $64 million signing bonus due before spring training.— Bob Nightengale (@BNightengale) January 22, 2026
From a pure payroll perspective, it’s almost comical to think that two of the game’s most impactful players are being compensated so lightly in present-day dollars, yet that’s the clever financial structuring behind these contracts. Both deals use signing bonuses and deferred payments to ease immediate cash outlays, a strategy that gives Los Angeles roster flexibility while still stacking talent.
It’s this very approach that has reignited a long-standing debate around baseball’s financial balance. The Dodgers’ roster now includes multiple players with contracts valued at well over nine figures, and the addition of Tucker’s four-year, $240 million deal only amplifies the chatter.
Critics Have Been Vocal About MLB Salary Cap Manipulation
Critics argue that this relentless accumulation of elite talent not only gives the Dodgers an unfair competitive edge but also contributes to a growing disparity across MLB. ESPN personality Chris Russo recently labeled the Dodgers’ spending “a joke,” pointing to their ability to exploit the rules through deferred compensation while fielding a roster that, in his view, undermines competitive equity.
Those sentiments are shared by some MLB owners as well. Reports out of league offices suggest that the Tucker and other high-end contracts have united club executives behind a push for a robust salary cap in the next Collective Bargaining Agreement, which could lead to a labor strike once the current CBA expires in December.
Yet defenders of the Dodgers contend that the team isn’t breaking any rules and is simply leveraging its resources to build a winning club. In fact, some analysts say the narrative of the Dodgers “ruining baseball” overlooks key points: other teams made competitive offers for Tucker, and deferred contracts like Ohtani’s are a negotiated choice between player and club.
As the 2026 season approaches, the Dodgers’ unusual payroll figures will keep this discussion at the forefront of baseball discourse.
