Last offseason, the Los Angeles Dodgers committed more than a billion dollars to Shohei Ohtani and Yoshinobu Yamamoto en route to a World Series ring, leading to even more spending this offseason.
In total, the Dodgers have paid Mookie Betts, Freddie Freeman, Tyler Glasnow, Blake Snell, Tanner Scott, Teoscar Hernandez, Blake Treinen, Michael Conforto, Roki Sasaki, and Tommy Edman. And that’s on top of the more than a billion dollars they committed to Ohtani and Yamamoto.
Last year, the Dodgers were assessed over $100 million in taxes for going over the luxury tax threshold. Without a salary cap, there’s incentive to spend money to win games, which brings in more money. It’s an interesting dynamic for Major League Baseball, unlike the NFL, which has a hard cap.
But, it would be interesting if the NFL, which dominates all three of the other major leagues, decided to do away with their current salary cap structure and adopt MLB’s version. That would beg the question: Who would be the Dodgers of the NFL?
Atlanta fans might be surprised to hear a salary cap expert say the Falcons, along with the Eagles, would be his best guess.
Who would be the LA Dodgers of the NFL if there were no salary cap? @Jason_OTC didn’t hesitate — and America’s Team is not near the top. https://t.co/bzTtanI6d9 pic.twitter.com/lVUawNTm0R
— Ari Meirov (@MySportsUpdate) February 13, 2025
From a wealth perspective, Arthur Blank isn’t even one of the 10 richest owners in the NFL. Many of the richest owners are families, like the Walton family, who own the Broncos, and the Hunt Family, who own the Chiefs. If it was just a bank account competition, Rob Walton would be able to outspend everyone else.
However, if we consider the cash spending of each organization, which is what Jason Fitzgerald brings up, the Falcons are among the biggest spenders in cash, ranking 7th in the league last season and spending nearly $310 million in cash.
Also, net worth doesn’t always equate to a willingness to spend money. For instance, Dan Snyder‘s net worth would have put him around the middle of the pact, but he was notoriously frugal, to the point where he was cheating fellow owners out of money in revenue sharing. Not all billionaires are made equal, and for all of his faults, Arthur Blank isn’t cheap.
If the Falcons need something, Blank will give his organization whatever is necessary to win football games. If he could pay to play, you could bet your bottom dollar the Falcons would be near the top of the league in spending, maybe even becoming the NFL’s Dodgers.
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Photographer: Rich von Biberstein/Icon Sportswire
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