NFL is the parity league? MLB would like a word

I didnt set out to write this column.

Im writing it only because you need this column.

You didnt even know you needed it.

So consider it a public service, courtesy of yours truly.

Ill waive my usual fee.

You may have noticed that its Super Bowl week.

I love Super Bowl week.

I love football.

I live in Philadelphia.

Im totally absorbed in this game.

So far be it for somebody like me to dump a Gatorade bucket on the NFLs head.

Advertisement But its also a time when, if youre paying attention to baseball, you might be hearing stuff like this: The Dodgers are ruining baseball.

The Dodgers are signing everybody, and the (FILL IN ANY TEAM YOUD LIKE) arent signing anybody because baseball is broken.

If only baseball was more like football, where (cough, cough) any team can win.

Pardon me while I pop in a cough drop.

Oh, yeah.

Any team can win in football, all right ...

that sport where, a mere three days from now, a team is attempting to win the Super Bowl FOR THE THIRD YEAR IN A ROW.

Im missing the point, you say? Im just covering for baseball, you say? I really dont think so.

And Ill prove it by reviving a column Ive laid on you before.

So here it comes the Five Biggest NFL/MLB Parity Myths of 2025.

Myth No.

1 The NFL is the Any Team Can Win League Can I raise my favorite beverage mug to toast those Kansas City Chiefs? Theyre special.

To three-peat in any sport is an awesome feat.

If they do it, Im here to celebrate that feat, not to thumb my nose at it.

But if youre one of those Any Team Can Win in the NFL people, you understand the Chiefs are a problem for you, right? It would be way more convenient for your argument if the Browns were representing the AFC in this Super Bowl.

Or the Jaguars.

Or the Jets.

Now if those teams were playing in this Super Bowl, you could tell me all about the euphoria that their sport has delivered to their downtrodden fan bases, as tears of joy stream down my face.

If only their sport had a system that could deliver hope to beaten-down, title-deprived fans like theirs.

Yes, if only their sport was more like ...

baseball! Its true that one of these sports has brought hope to cities around America where people had begun to think theyd never live to see one of those parades.

Its just not the sport where Any Team Can Win.

Its (repeat after me) ...

baseball! Advertisement I like to start this history lesson with 2001.

I could begin with any year, I guess.

But theres a good reason to start then.

That was the first official year of the 21st century, for one thing.

Its also when the Patriots of Tom Brady and Bill Belichick began to wreak havoc on what used to pass for competitive balance in the NFL.

In other news, thats right around the time that baseball began to infuse its sport with truly significant revenue sharing, plus a competitive balance tax.

Did you know that about 50 percent of those luxury-tax payments go to small-market teams? True story.

Thats pumped north of $270 million into those small-market budgets just in the past two years.

Also a true story.

But back to our parity discussion.

If we start with 2001, that gives us nearly a quarter-century of football-versus-baseball comps we can make.

And boy, is it fun to make them.

Here are all the teams in that (almost) quarter-century that have emancipated their beleaguered fans those poor people who had endured at least four decades of sports misery, waiting for their favorite teams to win a championship.

Youll notice that one sports list is more than twice as long as the other sports list.

Guess which one.

MLB TEAMS THAT HAVE BROKEN LONG TITLE-LESS DROUGHTS SINCE 2001 2016 Cubs 108 years (from 1908-2016) 2005 White Sox 88 years (from 1917-2005) 2004 Red Sox 86 years (from 1918-2004) 2017 Astros 55 years (first title in franchise history) 2023 Rangers 52 years (first title since they moved to Texas in 1971 but 62 years altogether) 2010 Giants 52 years (first title since they moved west in 1958 but 56 years altogether) 2002 Angels 51 years (first title in franchise history) 2019 Nationals 50 years (first title in franchise history, since they were born in Montreal in 1969) NFL TEAMS THAT HAVE BROKEN LONG TITLE-LESS DROUGHTS SINCE 2001 2017 Eagles 57 years (1960-2017) 2020 Chiefs 50 years (1970-2020) 2009 Saints 42 years (first title in franchise history) End of list.

Not pictured: The Browns ...

or the Jaguars ...

or the Jets.

So there you have the facts.

I count only three teams in one sport the Any Team Can Win sport that have extinguished their curses, but eight teams in the other sport ...

the Baseball is Broken sport.

Huh.

Advertisement And that baseball list doesnt even include the Royals, who ended a 30-year drought in 2015 but had only won once in the 48-season history of their franchise before then.

Or the Phillies, whose 2008 parade was just the second in team history (125 seasons!) but also the first by any team in their city, in any of the four major professional sports (MLB, NFL, NBA, NHL), in a combined 100 seasons (aka 25 years).

I could have included those teams or thrown in the title-starved 2016 Cleveland Indians, who made it all the way to the 10th inning of Game 7 of a World Series in their quest to end a drought that was then closing in on 70 years.

But there was no need for me to even go there.

When its eight curse-busters to three, why would I want to pile on? Especially since I can then move on to ...

Myth No.

2 The Dodgers are rich, the Chiefs are smart Have I mentioned lately that the Chiefs have a shot to three-peat? I did.

Which is great because now I can say ...

That in baseball, nobody ever even two-peats.

Were up to 24 seasons in a row without any team winning the World Series in two straight seasons.

Thats not merely the longest repeat-free streak in the history of baseball.

Its the longest in any of the four major professional sports.

Yep, even including the one where Any Team Can Win.

In that league, the Chiefs arent just attempting to three-peat.

They also have a chance to win their fourth Super Bowl in the last six years.

Just like the Dodgers, you say? Ha.

Not exactly.

Heres how that would compare with the trophy collection of some of your favorite baseball behemoths.

The Dodgers? Theyve won four World Series in the last 59 years.

The Braves? Theyve won four World Series in the last 121 years.

The Red Sox? Theyve won four World Series in the last 106 years.

The Giants? Theyve won four World Series in the last 91 years.

Advertisement The Cardinals? Theyve won four World Series in the last 60 years.

The Phillies? The Astros? Theyve won four World Series combined in the history of their franchises.

(Then again, thats only 185 seasons.) OK, so I didnt mention the Yankees.

Theyre different.

Or at least they used to be different.

They were monsters in the 1920s, 30s, 40s and 50s, plus the first half of the 1960s and the second half of the 1990s.

But then what? Here in the 2000s, baseball has held 22 World Series since it imposed its first luxury tax.

Of those 22 World Series, the Yankees have won one of them.

But I can hear you out there, pounding out your story comments that Im leaving out lots of other relevant details especially about what the Dodgers have been up to.

So lets go there.

Is it true that the Dodgers have made it to the postseason 12 years in a row? It is.

Is it also true that the Dodgers have played in four of the last eight World Series (winning two and losing two)? It is.

But heres where I bet we disagree.

Im going to estimate that something like 98 percent of you think the Dodgers have turned into That Team only because they have more money than Warren Buffet and feel free to throw it around, all willy-nilly.

But are you really sure its that simple? Im not going to dispute that having a gazillion dollars at your disposal is a big-time advantage in their sport.

I am going to dispute that thats why theyre playing baseball every October.

If you havent noticed that their Andrew Friedman-led front office is maybe the smartest and most creative in sports , heres a little proof: The Dodgers havent had a top-10 pick in the draft in 19 years.

They havent even had a top-20 pick in 12 years.

But when The Athletic published Keith Laws latest farm system rankings last week, where did the Dodgers rank? No.

3.

Thats a product of millions of good decisions, not the millions of zeroes on the checks they write.

Advertisement But I know you dont want to hear that, because I know what youre thinking.

So lets move along to ...

Myth No.

3 Yeah, but Kansas City True, That Other Team in Kansas City the Royals doesnt win, or play in, the World Series every year.

True, the NFL has a salary cap and baseball doesnt.

But are you sure we can connect those dots? You want to know the truth about why the Chiefs now win every year? It isnt the cap.

Its the quarterback ...

because in the NFL, its always the quarterback.

There is no position in baseball that even remotely compares to an NFL quarterback or has anywhere near the transcendent impact on winning that an NFL quarterback has.

And when one of those generational quarterbacks pulls into town, you know what follows? Not parity! So ...

Patrick Mahomes is in the Super Bowl ...

because of course he is.

The AFC never got the parity memo! Did you know that Mahomes, Brady and Peyton Manning have represented the AFC in 12 of the last 14 Super Bowls? Want to throw in Big Ben Roethlisberger? Heck, lets do that.

If you include Big Ben, just those four quarterbacks have represented the AFC in 21 of the last 23 Super Bowls ! Plus Brady played against Mahomes (for the NFC contestants, the Buccaneers) in Super Bowl LV in 2021.

That means those four QBs alone have racked up 22 appearances in the last 23 Super Bowls.

Whoa.

Its a good thing Any Team Can Win in that league! But now I know what else youre thinking.

Mahomes doesnt play in New York or L.A.

or any of the other mega-markets in this land.

He plays in Kansas City.

So if this was baseball, a team in Kansas City could never keep a player like that.

Right? Oh, wait.

That baseball team that plays across the parking lot from the Chiefs in Kansas City, the Royals, has a player very much like that.

His name is Bobby Witt Jr.

Hes the best shortstop in baseball.

And about a year ago, he signed a contract that could keep him in Kansas City until 2037 ! Advertisement So Im having trouble making that Yeah, but Kansas City angle work here.

Sorry.

But that still leaves me time to address your very favorite elephant in this room ...

Myth No.

4 Yeah, but the Yankees just played the Dodgers! Yes, its totally true that the most recent World Series matched two teams that laid out payrolls totaling more than half a billion dollars the Yankees and Dodgers.

Before you get rolling on that rant, can I just mention one thing? That was a great thing for their sport, not a bad thing.

And they have the ratings to prove it.

But now heres another thing I think I should be allowed to mention: This does not happen every year.

The Yankees and Dodgers ranked second and third, respectively, in payroll in MLB.

I bet you think World Series like that come around all the time, dont you? Nope! It can get a little tricky calculating payrolls.

So just to be fair, Im going to allow more leeway than listing all the World Series between teams in the top three in payroll.

What do you say we go with the top five? Sound good? Excellent.

So of the last 35 World Series, you know how many have matched two of the five biggest payroll titans in baseball? What do you think? A dozen? More? Maybe even many more? Im afraid not.

Before this year, a World Series like that had happened precisely three times in those 35 years: 2018 (Dodgers-Red Sox) ...

1999 (Yankees-Braves) ...

and 1996 (also Yankees-Braves).

And thats it.

But there are other ways to measure which sports finals open the widest door for teams of all shapes and sizes.

How about this: Why dont we look at how many different franchises have gotten to play for a title lately? That seems fair, doesnt it? Um, not if youre the Any Team Can Win league, because ...

Want to guess how many teams have played in the last nine Super Bowls? Believe it or not, its only eight.

Yes, eight.

Out of a potential 18 slots, just these eight teams have shown up: The Chiefs, Eagles, Patriots, 49ers, Buccaneers, Rams, Falcons and Bengals.

Advertisement Meanwhile, in the Sport Thats Broken (baseball), you know how many teams have played in the last nine World Series? That would be 12: The Dodgers, Yankees, Rangers, Diamondbacks, Astros, Phillies, Braves, Rays, Nationals, Red Sox, Cubs and Indians.

So the biggest myth of all is that baseball is that sport where you can just buy yourself a parade.

In the last 15 seasons, the team with one of the sports biggest payrolls has won it all exactly twice the Dodgers last year and the Red Sox in 2018.

Even if we start with 2001, its only three times, with the 2009 Yankees joining the list.

As recently as 2023, the teams with the two biggest payrolls the Mets and Yankees didnt even make the playoffs .

Look, Im not dopey enough to argue that money doesnt matter in baseball.

Of course, it matters.

Money buys you stars.

And stars are really helpful if youre trying to win.

Im also not going to argue that revenue disparity isnt a real thing in baseball.

Of course, it is.

And this sport will need to address it.

But somehow or other, of the 12 teams that made the playoffs last year, six came from the biggest markets in baseball and six came from the smallest markets in baseball.

So that leads us directly to ...

Myth No.

5 You cant have parity if you dont wear a cap As Evan Drellich has written so incisively recently in The Athletic, theres an excellent chance youll be spending the next couple of years listening to the mounting drumbeat for a salary cap in baseball .

So get ready.

That chatter is already chattering.

But do salary caps work? They do if you define work as more evenly distributing the money.

But if you define work by whether Any Team Can Win, you might want to research this more thoroughly.

Yes, in the NFL, any team can win, all right, except ...

its amazing how often the same teams win.

Advertisement CHIEFS made the playoffs 10 years in a row EAGLES 7 of the last 8 BILLS 6 in a row, 7 of 8 RAMS 6 of 8 RAVENS 6 of 8 PACKERS 5 of 6, 13 of 16 BUCS 5 in a row STEELERS 4 of 5, 8 of 11 Hey, its cool that teams from Buffalo and Kansas City are on that list.

And sure, the salary cap helps make that possible.

But if youre thinking thats the only thing that makes it possible, I think that qualifies as another myth.

I looked at 2024 payrolls in the Sport Thats Broken (ahem, baseball).

I found 12 teams that had Opening Day payrolls under $130 million.

Those are the teams that cant possibly win anything, right? Except that ...

Of those 12 teams, all but two have made the playoffs in the last five years.

And all but four have made the playoffs in the last two years.

And if we widen this little research project, every team in the sport has made the postseason since 2018 except for two teams the Pirates and Angels.

(The Reds made it only in the expanded 2020 playoffs, so make of that what you will.) OK, OK.

So that rate of playoff appearances isnt all that different from the NFL.

Eno Sarris just wrote all about that on this very site if youd like more context.

Just wanted to point out that baseball isnt as dysfunctional as people seem to think it is.

So what have we learned from this thoroughly enjoyable little exercise? Weve learned, for one thing, that debunking myths is as fun a game as any sportswriter can play.

But you know what weve also learned? That facts are good.

And its been my pleasure to bestow them on you.

Feel free to serve them on Super Bowl Sunday, right next to the guacamole and chips, just to amaze your friends and loved ones.

Im sorry if some of those chips are broken.

But you know what isnt broken? Sure, you do.

Its ...

Baseball! (Top image: Patrick Mahomes: Timothy A.

Clary / AFP / Getty Images; Freddie Freeman: Luke Hales / Getty Images).

This article has been shared from the original article on theathleticuk, here is the link to the original article.