The Los Angeles Dodgers sent shockwaves through the baseball world on Thursday night.
They signed Kyle Tucker to a four-year contract worth $60 million per year, a total of $240 million. And for those fans of both MLB and the NFL, it brought Dallas Cowboys QB Dak Prescott to mind.
Prescott's current deal also pays him $60 million per year, and it's a fascinating test-case in the same way that Tucker's deal is.
When Prescott signed, the fear was that it would continue to escalate QB salaries above and beyond. And while quarterbacks are still getting paid plenty, no one in the last couple years has exceeded Dak's $60 million per year.
MORE: An Air Force Captain will pitch for Team USA at the World Baseball Classic
Tucker is outdone in baseball by only Juan Soto and Shohei Ohtani (when you count the deferred money). Yet like Prescott, Tucker isn't a top-three player in the sport. He just came available at the right time, and had the right team willing to pay him a gigantic salary.
There are two ways this can go: Either Tucker can set the precedent that has players getting $65-70 million per year routinely. Or it can work out like Prescott and be a bit of an odd outlier.
ESPN's Karl Ravech wrote on X that he's concerned about the precedent possibilities here:
MLB teams never wanted to venture into the waters of shorter term deals for more money. The argument being, once you paid someone 60 million per season, the next guy is going to get 61 or 65 million per year and on and on it will go. Is it sustainable or is it the end of the CBA?
— Karl Ravech (@karlravechespn) January 16, 2026
But that Prescott deal looms as a fascinating comparison. It didn't quite set the precedent some would've thought.
Maybe the Dodgers were simply bidding against themselves here (Mets reportedly offered $55 million per year) and decided to go way up the ladder just to prove a point.
It doesn't automatically guarantee that when the Mahomes-Allen equivalent become baseball free agents, they'll crush the Tucker money. But if they do, then there's no telling where the salary skyrocket will stop.
More MLB news:
- Team USA's projected WBC lineup is incredible
- Dominican Republic's projected WBC lineup is fierce
- Red Sox are paying Manny Ramirez same 2026 salary as Dodgers are paying Shohei Ohtani
- Phillies have a secret weapon for signing Bo Bichette
- MLB looking at realignment into East-West arrangement
- Hunter Pence's nephew has the best name and a 100 MPH fastball