"Olney: Financial disparity among teams has long existed, but the Dodgers' payroll will serve to galvanize the effort of other owners to rebuild the sport's financial system through some kind of proposed cap-and-floor design. As one former player said: "It's like we're back in 1994 -- you've got some owners looking for the players to solve ownership issues." The players went on strike in August of 1994, of course, and that fall's World Series was canceled. But it remains to be seen how far the owners will push to revamp the system, and whether the players' coalition will hold together as strongly as it did three decades ago."
"Passan: Let's not forget the Mets, either. Their Opening Day payroll is upward of $50 million more than the Dodgers'. But Buster's points stand regardless: The spending of the top two teams has reinforced to 28 others that change is necessary. They believe that change comes via a salary cap. Regardless of whether the league can ever convince players to accept one, the vast majority"
The Dodgers and Mets led an offseason of extraordinary spending that pushed payrolls to new heights and heightened competitive imbalance. That spending has galvanized other owners toward pursuing a cap-and-floor financial model aimed at rebalancing revenues and payrolls. The payroll surge recalled the 1994 labor conflict and raised questions about how far owners will push to overhaul the system and whether player solidarity will hold. The offseason's trade rumors and roster moves will influence strategies at next summer's trade deadline and shape how contending teams and those repeating rosters approach the 2026 season.
Read at ESPN.com
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