There are numbers that feel theoretical, and then there are numbers that punch you in the chest.
The luxury-tax bill alone for the Los Angeles Dodgers in 2025 was $169.4 million — a figure that, by itself, is more than the entire 2025 payroll of the Detroit Tigers, which checked in around $160 million.
Read that again. The Dodgers paid more in penalties than the Tigers paid to field a full roster. And if you’re Tigers owner Chris Ilitch, that comparison should be impossible to ignore.
The Dodgers’ tax bill isn’t reckless.