Chicago Cubs chairman echoes SF Giants chairman's 'break even' comments

Greg Johnson, chairman of the SF Giants, got into hot water following the 2023 season when he said that it was the Giants ownership group's goal to "somewhat break even" which did not sit well with fans. The chairman of the Chicago Cubs said basically the same thing recently.

Tom Ricketts, whose family acquired the Cubs in 2009, recently spoke about the difficult of competing against franchises like the Los Angeles Dodgers, New York Mets, and New York Yankees. He also chided fans who expect the Cubs to do more, saying,"Because they think somehow we have all these dollars that the Dodgers have or the Mets have or the Yankees have and we just keep it. Which isn’t true at all. What happens is we try to break even every year, and that’s about it.”

Cubs chairman uses same dreaded phrase as SF Giants chairman

Understandably, many Cubs fans were miffed by those comments. Fans do not exactly want to hear the old "we don't have enough money" complaint from individuals with unimaginable sums of wealth. Like the Giants, the Cubs do not play in a small market and they both have the money to spend. It often seems like the Dodgers and Yankees are used as a convenient excuse for not being aggressive in free agency.

To be fair to Chicago, they did go out and make a trade for star outfielder Kyle Tucker so they are making moves to try to be competitive.

Yet, like the Giants, they are stuck in the second tier of National League teams. Both have a chance at being a Wild Card team if things go right, but if things go about as expected they will both most likely be teams at or maybe slightly above .500.

The Giants are in a similar boat to the Cubs because even though Greg Johnson has vowed to not use the dreaded "break even" phrase again, the Giants have still clearly been trying to cut payroll this offseason. When the Dodgers are spending money like crazy even after they won the World Series in 2024, it can be frustrating to see the team not be as aggressive as possible.

To be fair to the Giants, they did go out and land the best available shortstop in free agency in Willy Adames. Not only did they land him, but they gave him the largest contract in franchise history. Yet, the Giants still do not feel like a real contender. Perhaps if they had been more aggressive in their pursuit of Corbin Burnes they would be closer to contender status but alas, for now they are still a second tier team.

These "break even" comments are always going to infuriate fans, but sadly that is the reality of baseball: it is a business. Most owners care about their bottom line before everything else. One can only hope the Giants are able to overcome whatever limitations ownership has imposed and are still able to succeed in 2025.