Tom Ricketts: Cubs Don't Have 'Dollars' for Contracts Like Dodgers, Yankees or Mets

On the weekend of the annual Cubs Convention that serves to get fans excited for the upcoming season, Tom Ricketts did a good job of pouring cold water on any positive vibes that might have been building up.

Appearing on 670 The Score on Saturday, Ricketts pushed back about criticism of the team's perceived lack of spending by saying the Cubs don't have the "dollars" like the Los Angeles Dodgers, New York Yankees and New York Mets when asked about pressure from fans to spend more on payroll.

"They think somehow we have all these dollars that the Dodgers have or the Mets have or the Yankees have and we just keep it," Ricketts said. "Which isn't true at all. What happens is we try to break even every year, and that's about it."

In a separate conversation with The Athletic's Patrick Mooney, Ricketts did state the Cubs would have some payroll flexibility during the season if they wanted to make an addition before the trade deadline.

"We always have the ability to add payroll if we need to at the deadline," Ricketts said. "And if there's a piece we need to keep winning, there's always that option."

Per Cot's Baseball Contracts, the Cubs' 2025 payroll is projected to be $214.4 million. That would rank ninth based on current estimates, but there are still several notable free agents available who will change things.

Mooney did note Ricketts anticipates the payroll will end up around the $241 million luxury-tax threshold, depending on how the rest of free agency goes, what happens at the trade deadline and if they compete for a playoff spot.

The Cubs haven't had a top-five payroll since 2020, per Cot's. They ranked outside the top 10 in each of the previous three seasons.

Ricketts has been one of the MLB owners at the forefront suggesting they never have enough money. He infamously told ESPN's Jesse Rogers the league would suffer losses on a "biblical" scale during the 2020 season due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

In the same discussion with Rogers, Ricketts said MLB "does not make a lot of cash." MLB commissioner Rob Manfred told reporters during the World Series that league revenues were going to be higher in 2024 than 2023 when it made $11.6 billion.

While it's certainly true there is a huge gap in terms of revenue and operating income between the top and bottom teams in the league, the Cubs should behave much closer to the clubs that Ricketts cited.

Using Forbes' franchise valuations, the Cubs are the fourth-most valuable team in MLB at $4.22 billion. Their revenue of $506 million during the 2023 season ranked behind only the Yankees ($679 million) and Dodgers ($549 million).

The Mets are an outlier in any equation because Steve Cohen is the second-richest owner in American pro sports, trailing only Steve Ballmer of the Los Angeles Clippers, and he's shown a willingness to use his immense wealth to sign players like Francisco Lindor and Juan Soto.

Even when the Cubs made their big offseason move to acquire Kyle Tucker from the Houston Astros, they offset his addition by moving Cody Bellinger to the New York Yankees in what was essentially a salary-dump deal.

Bellinger didn't replicate his great 2023 performance last season, but he was hardly a bad player with a 111 OPS+ in 130 games. The only Cubs players who had a better OPS+ with at least 500 plate appearances were Seiya Suzuki (138), Ian Happ (120) and Michael Busch (118).

No one is saying the Cubs need to be spending close to $300 million every year like the Dodgers, Yankees and Mets are doing in 2025, but this idea they can't seems foolish for one of the marquee franchises in the sport.

The Cubs haven't made the playoffs since 2020 and haven't won a playoff series since 2017.