Are Detroit Lions or Detroit Tigers Closer to Championship?

The Detroit Lions share commonalities aplenty with the MLB franchise that resides right across the street from them: the Detroit Tigers.

Most notably, the two Detroit teams have built themselves in a largely organic fashion.

The Tigers, MLB's best team thus far in 2025 with a 47-27 record, are led by a variety of homegrown players. The organization's ace, reigning AL Cy Young winner Tarik Skubal, was a ninth round pick in 2018.

Meanwhile, three of the AL Central-leading squad's very best position players – outfielder Riley Greene, first baseman Spencer Torkelson and catcher Dillon Dingler – were all draft picks of the organization. Greene (No. 5 overall in 2019) and Torkelson (No. 1 overall in 2020) were each top-five selections, while Dingler was a second round pick in 2020. 

This is just the start of the countless number of players who have risen through the Tigers organization to become major league contributors. I'd be remiss not to also mention the likes of starting pitcher Casey Mize (No. 1 overall pick in 2018), reliever Will Vest (12th round pick in 2017) and outfielder/designated hitter Kerry Carpenter (19th round selection in 2019). 

These above individuals help comprise the fourth-youngest roster in all of baseball today (average age: 27.6).

Similarly, the two-time reigning NFC North champion Lions have been constructed in a major way through the draft. 

It started during the first year of the Dan Campbell-Brad Holmes era when the regime nabbed offensive tackle Penei Sewell (No. 7 overall) and receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown (a fourth-rounder) in the 2021 NFL Draft. Sewell and St. Brown have each gone on to be named first-team All-Pro twice. Plus, they've both been selected to the Pro Bowl three times.

Since drafting the two All-Pros, Campbell and Holmes have continued to assemble a nice, young core in the Motor City. The duo, in fact, has selected a variety of high-performing players in the first round, including EDGE Aidan Hutchinson and wideout Jameson Williams in 2022 and running back Jahmyr Gibbs and linebacker Jack Campbell in 2023. 

Along with those first-round talents, Holmes & Co. have found gems in the later rounds, too, like safety Kerby Joseph in the third round of the 2022 draft and fellow defensive back Brian Branch in the second round of the 2023 draft. 

Joseph was a first-team All-Pro selection for the first time this past season. Additionally, entering the 2025 campaign, Joseph and Branch are considered one of the NFL's very best safety tandems.

These draft picks have drastically turned around the fortunes of each of the aforementioned Detroit pro sports franchises. And now both the Tigers and the Lions are on trajectories to win championships.

Yet, Dan Campbell's squad arguably has a slightly better chance to win a title because of one major factor: the NFL's salary cap. This levels out the playing field in a significant way for the franchises that perhaps don't have as much spending power as others.

Detroit will never be confused for a major-market team, so the presence of a salary cap should allow the Lions to more easily compete for a Super Bowl title on a yearly basis.

Meanwhile, in Major League Baseball, there is no such thing as a salary cap. Instead, there is a predetermined payroll threshold in place, and if teams exceed it, they are subject to a Competitive Balance Tax, commonly referred to as a "luxury tax." It's intended to discourage excessive spending and induce competitive balance.

Even with that being the case, though, the big-market clubs – like the L.A. Dodgers, the N.Y. Mets and the N.Y. Yankees – have the ability to more easily acquire the league's top players when they become free agents. Just look at the Dodgers with their collection of superstar talent (e.g. Shohei Ohtani, Mookie Betts and Freddie Freeman). And because of such, those teams typically reign supreme atop the majors.