For Dodgers High Cost Of Success Isn’t Always A Luxury, But Well Worth It

Sometimes having a high payroll is luxurious, but other times it is no luxury. The Dodgers are finding this out as the final financial terms of their 2013 payroll were made public. According to this article from Bill Shaikin, the final payroll tally for the Dodgers was 248 million dollars for the 2013 season.

The payroll numbers represent all expenses from player payroll, incentive bonuses, benefits, and taxes. The Dodgers were apparently assessed 11.4 million dollars under Baseball’s luxury tax. The Luxury tax is a penalty given to teams who exceed the maximum payroll threshold during a given season. The Dodgers were way above that threshold.

The Dodger Way Is Well worth the luxury Tax

The luxury tax for last season kicked in for any club that was above the 178 million mark. However next season that raises to a 189 million dollar level. But for clubs that exceed the threshold for a second consecutive season, the tax percentage raises. This year the Dodgers were penalized a 17.5 percent rate, but next year that rate increases to 30 percent. Hey nobody said success comes cheap.

The one thing that the new ownership group isn’t is cheap. The Guggenheim group had the second highest payroll in all of Baseball last season, second only to the Yankees  by a mere 147,000 dollars. That’s chump change to these high rollers.

This is what we all wanted. The new ownership group has kept their promises to Dodger fans. They’ve brought the Dodgers out of the Frank McCourt bankruptcy penny-pinching nightmare and back into financial, and commercial success as one of the highest spending teams in all of Baseball. The new owners are committed to fielding a competitive ball club with a high payroll filled with exciting and marketable players every season for Dodger Fans. They’re also committed to preserving and protecting Dodger tradition, and upgrading Dodger Stadium. The new owners have brought back the Dodger way, but for the 21st century. Be thankful Dodger fans, we’ve come a long way. Although that status comes with a price each season, and sometimes that price is not always a luxury. But it is well worth the taxation.