The worst owners in sports are too involved in the day-to-day operations of the team, and don't spend nearly enough money. Dodgers owner Mark Walter is the opposite of that. Walter rarely seeks the spotlight, and fields the highest payroll in all of baseball. As it turns out, Dodgers fans didn't want to know what goes on behind the curtain.
Walter is under federal investigation for a complicated financial crime that could be better explained by an expert in that field. However, I will attempt to do so as simply as possible. Essentially, Walter owns plenty of companies. One area of interest is insurance, while another is professional sports and entertainment. Walter is accused of funneling money from those insurance companies into some of his other interests without properly reporting it. Over the last few months, Walter has been shuffling even more money around, sold his shares in the Los Angeles Lakers, and even approached the cable company Charter Communications to let them out of the Lakers and Dodgers local TV deal, which pays the Dodgers close to $300 million per year.
Mark Walter investigation could paint the Dodgers dynasty in a different light
Add in that Walter's Dodgers also don't have to pay their full portion in revenue sharing thanks to a ruling from a bankruptcy court in 2012, and you can start to understand why this would enrage fans across baseball. The Dodgers were already set to save between $50 million and $55 million in revenue sharing — basically one free Kyle Tucker — this winter. Apparently that wasn't good enough, as Walter got himself in enough financial doodoo that he tried to opt out of a sweetheart of a deal.
The Walter investigation shouldn't impact payroll whatsoever. All of those contracts are bought and paid for and, unlike what some small-market baseball fans might tell you, Walter and the Dodgers are still making money hand over first and can afford the likes of Shohei Ohtani and Kyle Tucker thanks to the impressive year-over-year revenue numbers.
But to play devil's advocate, the one consistent argument against the Dodgers being the best dynasty of the modern era is that they bought championships. If Dodgers detractors can use the investigation against Walter to credibly prove some of that money was not well-earned, then we could judge LA's back-to-back World Series (and possibly a three-peat soon enough) differently a decade from now.
What's actaully true about the Dodgers dynasty, and what's not
The Dodgers aren't a fraudulent product, believe it or not. The dynasty was built fair and square, thanks to flawed CBA and a set of circumstances no other organization could replicate. The record TV deal, which pays the Dodgers more than any other team in MLB, is what fuels much of their on-field accomplishments. Ticket and merch sales are through the roof, and the Dodgers have a rabid fanbase. They lead MLB in attendance by close to 10,000 fans per game.
Walter and Andrew Friedman found loopholes. Whether it be deferred contracts, prospect-for-prospect trades or elite international scouting, the Dodgers are ahead of the competition in every front office and roster component. The rest of the league is just catching up, and even I must admit — it's all legal. The Dodgers are built the right way. They have a top-notch farm system, are Japan's favorite MLB team, and their owner is willing to spend whatever it takes to win.
But here comes the bad news. Walter, as envied as he is by other owners around baseball (including Steve Cohen), is as the top of his game. That means he can ill-afford a slip-up, and his most recent drama threatens to derail everything he helped build in Los Angeles. Whether he eventually has to sell some of his shares in the Dodgers, or merely dabbled in some illegal activities as the primary owner of the richest franchise in MLB, there will be hell to pay in the court of public opinion. Baseball, more than any other sport, is willing to listen.
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