Latest Dodgers payroll update should have Brewers fans infuriated

Often a topic of conversation during the final months of the 2025 regular season and into the postseason was the payroll disparity that exists between the top spenders in MLB and those who are forced to limit their financial commitments due purely to the size of the market they play in. The reason such conversations were more common this year than in seasons past is the looming expiration of the Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) that governs the relationship between MLB owners and the MLB Player's Association (MLBPA).

Many are expecting the decision of whether or not to finally implement a salary cap in MLB to hold up the passage of a new CBA next December, which could potentially lead another lockout. For the most part, both owners and MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred are in favor of implementing a salary cap to some extent, but it will be difficult to convince the MLBPA to agree to any amendment that limits their earning power.

With this potentially detrimental disagreement already on the minds of many baseball fans throughout the 2025 season, calls for a salary cap were elevated in the postseason, when the mighty Los Angeles Dodgers, who are oft-cited as the reason MLB needs a salary cap, matched up with the Milwaukee Brewers, who play in the smallest market in baseball, in the National League Championship Series. ESPN's Jeff Passan published an article shortly before the NLCS commenced stating how the outcome of the series could have serious implications on next year's CBA debates. His reasoning was: if the modestly funded Brewers can topple a payroll giant like the Dodgers, then clearly money isn't the reason behind some teams being better than others and there's no need for a salary cap.

So, add to the pressure that the Brewers already felt being back in the NLCS for just the third time in franchise history against the most expensive roster in MLB history, the fact that they were, in a way, fighting to save baseball, all while having a payroll roughly one-third of the size of the Dodgers'. Seems fair.

You won't find any excuses coming from Pat Murphy or his players; they know that the squad Matt Arnold and his team assembled could have beaten the Dodgers (they did so six times during the regular season), but the nature of Milwaukee's loss, paired with Dave Roberts' postgame comments vowing to "ruin baseball," left the baseball world feeling even less optimistic about the league's ability to avoid a work stoppage next winter.

As if the four-game sweep, Shohei Ohtani's legendary Game 4 performance, and Roberts' postgame speech weren't enough, the latest update in regards to Los Angeles' bloated payroll situation is likely to further enrage the Milwaukee faithful.

The Dodgers' luxury tax payment alone was higher than the Brewers' total payroll in 2025

As reported in an article over on ESPN.com, the Dodgers are set to pay a record-breaking $169 million luxury tax for their massive payroll expenditures during the 2025 season. According to Cot's Baseball Contracts, a popular payroll resource operated by Baseball Prospectus, the Brewers finished the 2025 season with a payroll of roughly $132 million. The same website clearly reports that the Seattle Mariners finished the season with the 15th highest payroll in baseball at $167 million, meaning half of the league had a payroll in 2025 that was lower than the Dodgers' luxury tax payment. Baseball might be broken.

For Brewers fans, who have watched their team be denied a spot in the World Series by the Dodgers twice in the last eight years, these facts are incredibly hard to stomach. The Brewers have embraced this underdog mentality, with Murphy often deeming his team the underdogs in the postseason despite them being the top overall seed. And he's right! No matter how you spin it, Milwaukee, who can't afford a payroll that is bigger than the Dodgers' luxury tax payment, will forever have a steeper hill to climb to success than a team that can solve any roster hole by throwing more money at it.

When faced with this reality, the Brewers' recent run of success, during which they have reached the postseason in seven of the last eight seasons, is nearly unfathomable. It's a testament to the culture the organization has created, the unparalleled expertise of the current front office, and the mentality that Murphy instills in his players, who were certainly not thinking about payroll during their record-breaking 2025 season. Even still, it's not an easy reality to accept, especially when other professional sports leagues have already mastered the art of revenue sharing.