Tigers owner Christopher Ilitch recently spoke to the media, including The Athletic’s Cody Stavenhagen, about various topics affecting the team. Fans are encouraged to check out the full interview for all the details. This post will focus on quotes related to team salary and competitive balance tax.
Detroit just put together a tough offseason, which included a few late signings, as they come. Framber Valdez again Justin Verlander in February. Verlander’s deal was modest, with $11MM of the $13MM guaranteed deferred over the next ten years. The Valdez deal also had some delays in it but was still very much a commitment, with a sticker price of $115MM over three years.
“It’s really a win-win, and it’s giving back,” Ilitch said of adding those notable deals to the payroll. “What we’re doing in Detroit and Michigan — it’s for the fans, really, at the end of the day. I’m really motivated to build a successful, championship-level organization for Tigers fans.”
The Tigers are poised to set a new high water mark in terms of salary, as seen in Cot’s Baseball Contracts data. Back in 2016 and 2017, revenue was less than $200MM. That’s when Christopher’s father Michael was running the team. Michael died in February 2017, which is when Christopher inherited the throne.
That 2017 season turned into a huge mess for the Tigers. They traded veteran players that summer, shipping JD Martinez, Justin Upton and Verlander out of town. They then entered a lengthy rebuilding period with salaries down from that point in 2016-17. The Tigers finally returned to contention recently, making the playoffs in 2024 and 2025.
Despite opening that new window of competition, the club has remained strong, at least until recently. They have signed many free agents to one-year deals through the 2025 season. The exception was the two-year contract Jack Flahertyand that too had an option to exit the center. Their 2025 trade deadline wasn’t shy either; they mostly pick up complementary depth pieces, as opposed to true difference makers.
Even the 2025-26 season looked like it would be more of the same until the Valdez and Verlander deals pushed them to a new level. Cot designs them for $206MM in terms of pure pay. RosterResource’s figures are much higher, with a projected payroll of $217MM. Or it could be a new franchise record.
The spending also pushed the club closer to the $244MM base limit for competitive balance tax. Cot projects them at $241MM with RosterResource nearly half a million higher. Ilitch was asked if he was willing to push the club over the line.
“Scott and I talked about that,” Ilitch said, referring to president of baseball operations Scott Harris. “I think the most important thing for me and for him is to make sure that we give our organization, our team and our players the best chance for success. So, based on the team that we have, I leave it up to Scott to decide if he wants to add. And if he does, that’s a non-issue.”
While that is not a firm declaration that the club is willing to pay the tax, Ilitch also did not close the door on the possibility. That is likely to encourage the club’s supporters, as it would be difficult for the Tigers to make off-season additions otherwise. With them so close to the tax line, Harris would have almost no wiggle room at the deadline if there was a strong club policy against paying the tax.
The Tigers have a solid chance to make some noise in 2026 Tarik Skubal under the control of the club for one more year. He’s obviously won the American League Cy Young Award the past two seasons, and teaming him up with Valdez is a huge boon, especially if he makes a big run in the postseason, when teams tend to rely heavily on their top arms. Skubal is likely to sign with another club next season, leaving the 2026 season as the Tigers’ last chance to take advantage of having him on the roster.
Although all clubs have a salary cap, it would be disappointing if the tax was some sort of barrier that cannot be crossed this year, so perhaps it would be cause for some hope that paying the tax seems a possibility. The Tigers last paid CBT in 2017.
Photo courtesy of Junfu Han, Imagn Images
