large and small market teams. Luxury tax rules by league Major League Baseball Luxury tax National Basketball Association Soft salary cap + luxury tax National Football League Hard salary cap National Hockey League Hard salary cap Major League Soccer Hard salary cap + Designated Player Rule exception (making it effectively a soft cap) Major League Rugby Hard salary cap Major League Lacrosse Hard salary cap National Lacrosse League Soft salary cap Major League Baseball (MLB) As explained by Fangraphs: "Technically called the 'Competitive Balance Tax', the Luxury Tax is the punishment that large market teams get for spending too much money. While MLB does not have a set salary cap, the luxury tax charges teams with high payrolls a considerable amount of money, giving teams ample reason to want to keep their payrolls below that level." The threshold level for the luxury tax will be $189MM in 2014 (up from $178MM from 2011-2013) and will remain at $189MM through 2016. From 2012 through 2016, teams who exceed the threshold for the first time must pay 17.5% of the amount they are over, 30% for the second consecutive year over, 40% for the third consecutive year over, and 50% for four or more consecutive years over the cap. Only eight teams have ever exceeded the luxury tax threshold: the San Francisco Giants, the Boston Red Sox, the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, the Detroit Tigers, the Los Angeles Dodgers, the New York Yankees, the Chicago Cubs for the first time in 2016 and the Washington Nationals for the first time in 2018. Only the Red Sox, Dodgers and Yankees have exceeded it more than once. The LA Dodgers have exceeded it four times. Boston has exceeded it six times. New York has exceeded it fourteen times, or, every year since it has been in enforcement. In aggregate, the Yankees have paid out some $325.00 MM, 73.78% of the total fines assessed since the luxury tax began. In 2016 a record six teams were issued the luxury tax by the MLB. The Los Angeles Dodgers ($31.8 million), the New York Yankees ($27.4 million), the Boston Red Sox ($4.5 million), the Detroit Tigers ($4 million), the San Francisco Giants ($3.4 million) and the Chicago Cubs ($2.96 million). In 2017 the same six teams from 2016 were issued the luxury tax by the MLB. Against the $195 million threshold + $13 million for player