The Collective Balance Tax, A Real Solution, and How it Effects the Diamondbacks

How Does This Effect The Diamondbacks?

Ken Kendrick along with 3 other team owners actually voted against the owners raising the CBT from the $210MM it was last year to the $220MM the league has supposedly now agreed to raise it to. But in terms of payroll, the Diamondbacks were one of the bottom 10 in terms of total spending. Being a Diamondbacks fan, despite their awful record, I would also say they are another above-average player or two away from competing in the tough National League West. Their total team payroll for the 2021 season was roughly $91MM. Why do I bring this up? Because the best thing for the fans and for the sport as a whole is not to make a salary cap, but a salary floor.

The players are wanting to raise the CBT so that a few teams can have the option of possibly going over that threshold. But if you made the floor $100MM, based on the 12 teams that did not spend $100MM in 2021 there would roughly be an extra $273 million to spend on player payroll. That would be substantially more than what a few teams would spend if the CBT was raised $10MM or even 12MM. Plus, it would actually accomplish what the term implies, competitive balance. Now obviously, the smaller market (I really despise that term) teams are not going to want this radical improvement to the game because it has the potential to negatively effect their bottom line. But, what are the two things that get fans more interested, winning and competition? If they both compete at a higher rate and win more of those competitive games more fans will be interested in the team. More fans come to the ball park and purchase food and drinks and buy merchandise and so on. This will positively effect their bottom line. More importantly, it will positively effect the game we love. 

Lastly, just in case you were wondering how many of those bottom 12 teams that spent under the $100MM threshold made the play-offs, the answer is two. The Tampa Bay Rays and the Milwaukee Brewers. But, if teams like the Diamondbacks were forced to spend $100MM most if not all of those teams would consistently contend. Tanking would decrease, salaries would increase and so would attendance. See, I told you I would everyone happy.