Baseball’s top salaries are declining, as evidenced by smaller qualifying offer

Last offseason was marred by a lack of spending and perceived interest in several of the sport's biggest stars. Even beyond the fact that teams weren't pursuing once-in-a-generation stars Bryce Harper and Manny Machado, the league's biggest spenders like the Los Angeles Dodgers and New York Yankees were actively trying to get under the competitive balance tax rather than improve their team to win a title. Now the fruits of the ownerships' labor to suppress salaries is truly showing, as The Athletic's Jayson Stark reported on Friday that the qualifying offer will drop — from $17.9 million to $17.8 million — for the first time in its eight years of existence.