Kyle Tucker Having $1 Million Salary in 2026 and Receiving $64 Million as Signing Bonus Has Fans Losing It: “Exploiting the Game”

The Los Angeles Dodgers will give Kyle Tucker a salary of $1 million in 2026 while giving him a $64 million signing bonus.

Kyle Tucker Having $1 Million Salary in 2026 and Receiving $64 Million as Signing Bonus Has Fans Losing It: “Exploiting the Game”

Kyle Tucker (Image via Instagram/@dodgers)

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On Wednesday, the Los Angeles Dodgers officially introduced Kyle Tucker. The two-time defending champions landed him last week on a 4-year $240 million deal. As per reports, the outfielder will have a $1 million salary in 2026 and receive $64 million as a signing bonus.

Tucker spent the 2025 season with the Chicago Cubs after being traded away by the Houston Astros. In his lone year with the National League Central side, the outfielder smashed 22 home runs and had 73 RBIs in 136 regular-season games.

He would become a free agent after turning down the qualifying offer from the Cubs. After a slow start, his free agency saga picked up pace last week. Reports emerged that the Dodgers, Toronto Blue Jays and the New York Mets were favorites to land him.

The 4-time All-Star turned down a 4-year, $220 million deal with the Mets and joined the Dodgers on a $240 million deal. Him joining the LA-based side sparked a massive outrage among fans on social media.

With $30 million deferred, Tucker had a net present value of $57.1 million. However, the Dodgers will only pay him $1 million in salary.

As per reports, Tucker will get a $64 million signing bonus. He will receive $54 million on February 15 this year and then $10 million on February 1, 2027.

The American international will get $1 million in salary this year and then receive $55 million in salary in 2027. After that, he will have $60 million player options for the 2028 and 2029 seasons.

In simple terms, the Dodgers will pay just $3 million in salaries to Kyle Tucker and Shohei Ohtani combined during the 2026 season.

Without factoring deferred money, Tucker’s $60 million Average Annual Value (AAV) is the second highest in MLB behind Ohtani’s $70 million. However, due to deferred payments, the Dodgers will merely pay the duo a combined of $3 million in salaries in the upcoming season.

MLB fans slam Dodgers again following reports of Kyle Tucker’s salary

In the past few years, the Los Angeles Dodgers have received heavy criticism regarding their payment methods. After reports of them paying just $1 million salary to Kyle Tucker emerged, fans once again slammed them.

Brandon Gomes, Kyle Tucker and Dave Roberts
Brandon Gomes, Kyle Tucker and Dave Roberts (Image via MLB)

Users on X thrashed the team and called them out. While many once again pointed out that a lockout will happen, one user wrote “exploiting the game” while taking a swipe at them.

Check out that and some other reactions from X below:

Speaking of Tucker, he will wear No.23 with the Dodgers. During the introductory press conference, he claimed that this decision was taken by him in honor of his former Houston Astros teammate and mentor Michael Brantley.

Kyle Tucker responds to chatter of MLB owners wanting a salary cap following his $240 million deal with Dodgers

Kyle Tucker’s massive deal with the Los Angeles Dodgers once again prompted questions regarding the introduction of a salary cap and a salary floor. While speaking with the reporters for the first time since joining them, Tucker responded to this.

Kyle Tucker
Kyle Tucker (Image via X/@TalkinBaseball_)

With the way things have been going, the fans have urged the league to put a salary cap in place to control the spending of big teams like the Dodgers. When asked if it was good for the sport of baseball for Dodgers to spend too much money, Tucker expressed that the game was in a good spot.

I think baseball is in a good spot. I mean, we have phenomenal attendance around the world… If we can just continue growing the fan base and having fun with it and continue to have that interaction between the organizations and the fan bases, I think it’s good for baseball.

Kyle Tucker said.

According to Evan Drellich of The Athletic, MLB owners were left “raging” after reports of Tucker joining the Dodgers came out. As per the MLB insider, owners with “a 100 percent certainty” will push for a salary cap during the Collective Bargaining Agreement meeting.

At the moment, the MLB is the only Big 4 league in the United States to not have a salary cap. Tucker’s deal with the Dodgers could become the reason for its potential introduction in the MLB in the future.

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