NFL veteran turned media personality Jason Kelce recently stirred controversy with his remarks about the Los Angeles Dodgers and the 2025 World Series.
Speaking on the “New Heights” podcast with his brother Travis Kelce, Jason criticized baseball as a sport where “you just buy World Series championships.” He argued that the league has become predictable because big-spending franchises like the Dodgers can simply use financial power to secure victories.
He also took aim at the Toronto Blue Jays, the Dodgers’ opponent in the Series, dismissing them as “a team from Canada” and implying that their performance was overshadowed by the Dodgers’ wealth.
Kelce’s blunt comments included: “Baseball sucks. You just buy World Series championships. It’s the dumbest thing in the world.”
Unpacking the backlash
Baseball fans responded quickly, with many labeling Kelce’s statements as not only controversial but hypocritical. Critics pointed out that his former sport, the NFL, also features teams that dominate thanks to significant spending and organizational advantages.
Some fans highlighted the irony of Kelce’s remarks given the success of certain NFL franchises, sarcastically noting that he comes from a league where a small group of teams repeatedly wins championships.
Another wrote: “Coming from a guy who played a sport where a team has been to 5 of the last 6 Super Bowls and won 3 of them lol.”
“I fear I cannot support this man anymore,” wrote one fan, with another adding: “Such a bad take by Jason. No repeat winners in MLB for 25 years. Meanwhile Chiefs and Patriots have had a monopoly on the NFL for the same amount of time.”
Additionally, Kelce’s claim that the Dodgers outspent everyone didn’t align with publicly available payroll data. In fact, the New York Mets and Philadelphia Phillies carried higher total payrolls than both the Dodgers and Blue Jays in 2025.
Despite this, Kelce’s comments overshadowed a thrilling World Series that went to seven games, featuring clutch performances, tension-filled innings, and dramatic moments – hardly the predictable spectacle he described.
Analysts suggest that the underlying issue isn’t that the Dodgers spend money, but rather that some MLB teams choose not to invest adequately to remain competitive.
The Dodgers’ financial strength stems from a combination of strong attendance, lucrative media deals, and a well-established revenue infrastructure, which gives them unique flexibility in building a championship roster. While Kelce focused on money, the reality is that baseball still requires skill, strategy, and sometimes luck to claim a title.
The debate sparked by Kelce’s comments touches on a larger question about competitive balance in professional sports. Is it fair for one organization to have vastly more resources than others? Or is the problem simply teams that underinvest and fail to challenge the top contenders?
Either way, his statements shifted some attention away from the spectacle of the Series and onto the business side of winning, prompting passionate reactions from fans and analysts alike.
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