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Does Payroll Of Playoff Contender Affect Future Contract Negotiations?

Baseball agents love it when a team like the New York Yankees or Boston Red Sox makes it to the playoffs year after year and is always fighting for a chance to win the World Series.  Not because a majority of agents are true fans of either team, but because they can then go to management in a future negotiation and explain that the blueprint is clear: If you want to win, you have to pay top dollar for the best players.  It is a technique that aims to turn teams like the Pirates, Marlins, and Rays into believers.  While that tactic does not always work according to plan, it helps when the teams that are expected to win are actually winning.

But what happens when the lower payroll teams start beating out the big spenders?  Will the big spenders stop throwing their money at the players who have their hands out constantly asking for more?  And will the non-spenders continue to balk at the idea of spending, since they have enjoyed success without dishing out close to the amount of money that the “big market” teams have spent?

Only 3 (Giants, Phillies, and Yankees) of the top 10 teams when it comes to payroll have made this year’s playoffs.  4 teams from the bottom half of payrolls made the playoffs (Rangers, Rays, Reds, and Braves).  Does this mean that parity is possible in a league that is not bound by any type of salary cap?  Darren Rovell says it is not only possible, but that the MLB has the most parity of any sport, with 19 different World Series champions in the past 30 years.

By Darren Heitner

Darren Adam Heitner, Esq., is a preeminent sports attorney and the founder of Heitner Legal, P.L.L.C., a Fort Lauderdale-based law firm specializing in sports law, contract negotiations, intellectual property, and arbitration. He earned his Juris Doctor from the University of Florida Levin College of Law in 2010 and a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science, magna cum laude, from the University of Florida in 2007, where he was named Valedictorian of the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences. Admitted to practice in the state bars of Florida, New York, and the District of Columbia, as well as multiple federal courts, Darren also serves as a certified arbitrator with the American Arbitration Association.

As an adjunct professor, Darren imparts his expertise through teaching Sports Law at the University of Florida Levin College of Law and Name, Image, and Likeness (NIL) at the University of Miami School of Law in the Entertainment, Arts, and Sports Law LL.M. program. His scholarly contributions include authoring several books published by the American Bar Association, such as How to Play the Game: What Every Sports Attorney Needs to Know, and numerous articles in prominent publications like Forbes, Inc. Magazine, and Above the Law. His thought leadership in NIL has earned him recognition as one of the foremost experts by The Wall Street Journal, USA TODAY, and On3, and he has been lauded as a “power player in NIL deals” by Action Network and a “top sports trademark attorney” by Sportico.

Darren’s passion for sports law led him to establish Sports Agent Blog on December 31, 2005, initially titled “I Want To Be A Sports Agent.” The platform, created as a New Year’s resolution, has grown into a cornerstone of the sports agency community, offering in-depth analysis of industry trends, legal disputes, and agent-player dynamics. His commitment to the field is further evidenced by his representation of numerous athletes and sports agents, as well as his prior role as an Adjunct Professor at Indiana University Bloomington, where he developed and taught a course on Sport Agency Management from 2011 to 2014.

Darren’s contributions have been recognized with prestigious honors, including the University of Florida’s 40 Under 40 Award, the University of Florida Levin College of Law’s Outstanding Young Alumnus Award, and designation as the best lawyer in Fort Lauderdale by Fort Lauderdale Magazine. He remains an active voice in the sports law community, sharing insights through his weekly NIL newsletter and his X posts, engaging a broad audience on legal developments in sports.

3 replies on “Does Payroll Of Playoff Contender Affect Future Contract Negotiations?”

I think either way, if a team is winning the payroll will rise. Can you build a team and have a one-hit wonder, a la the Marlins ’97 and ’03? Yes. But well-paid teams will then scoop up those players and pay them what they deserve.

This situation I think is best illustrated with Mauer and Crawford. The Twins payroll was bound to increase if they wanted to keep Mauer, so they killed two birds with one stone in maintaining their homegrown guy but also giving him a huge contract. Crawford is in the same boat this year. Homegrown talent that will demand (and rightfully so) top dollar, so the Rays must decide what road they want to take.

Can a low payroll team have success in a given year? Yes. Can a team be a yearly title contender when constantly losing players to higher paying teams? Not likely.

The Twins and Rays have won over the past several years and still maintain a low payroll.
I don’t see your arguement?

Any team that drafts well, maintain and develop those players and cast off players soon to be overpaid (Kazmir and Santana) can win in baseball.

Small market teams must have the mentality they are going to win or at a minimum the core of their team needs to built through their minor league system. It is much easier to spend money or scouting than a over priced free agent.

Salaries can and should rise when a team wins such a big title. But winning isn’t always about having all the best players on paper, either.

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