It had been a few weeks since the Los Angeles Dodgers splurged on a star player, so they scratched that itch on Thursday by agreeing to a deal with Kyle Tucker that once again solidified their status as the biggest financial juggernaut in all of North American pro sports.<\/p>\n
Per ESPN’s Jeff Passan<\/a>, Tucker will sign a four-year, $240 million deal with the two-time defending World Series champs that includes $30 million in deferred money and an opt-out after the second year. <\/p>\n When Tucker’s deal becomes official, Michael Ginnitti of Spotrac noted the Dodgers’ $2.1 billion in guaranteed salaries owed will be nearly $800 million more than the No. 2 team in MLB (San Diego Padres: $1.3 billion). <\/p>\n Ginnitti also pointed out that the present-day value of Tucker’s contract will come to around $57 million annually when factoring in the deferred money, and the Dodgers will have two of the three largest individual tax salaries on their books in 2026. <\/p>\n It’s telling how active the Dodgers are at all times that this was considered a quiet offseason for them, even though they previously signed Edwin D\u00edaz\u00a0to a three-year, $69 million contract that made him the highest-paid closer<\/a> in MLB history. <\/p>\n Between their $413 million payroll and estimated tax bill, the Dodgers are projected to spend $575.6 million<\/a> in 2026 if they don’t make any other moves. For comparison, the most expensive NBA team for the 2025-26 season is the Cleveland Cavaliers with a combined payroll and tax bill<\/a> of $392.4 million. <\/p>\n Before the Boston Celtics broke up a lot of their core last summer by trading Kristaps Porzi\u0146\u0123is and Jrue Holiday, they were on track to spend roughly $494 million<\/a> between payroll and tax payments during the 2025-26 season. <\/p>\n