Posts tagged MLB
MLB owners propose first salary cap since 1994 strike
May 30, 2026 // Teams that would need to increase their payrolls based on current projections for this season are the A's, Rockies, Cardinals, Guardians, White Sox, Pirates, Twins, Brewers, Rays, Marlins, Nationals and Reds. Teams that would need to shed payroll to get under the cap are the Dodgers, Yankees, Mets, Blue Jays, Phillies, Red Sox, Braves and Padres. MLB remains the only major North American professional sports league without a cap-and-floor system. The last time baseball owners proposed a firm cap --1994 -- it prompted a 7½-month strike that forced the cancellation of the World Series for the first time in 90 years. MLB eventually withdrew the cap proposal after pressure by the National Labor Relations Board.
MLB, players’ union meet to begin labor talks, sources say
May 14, 2026 // MLB intends to pursue a salary cap system, a financial structure that players staunchly oppose. The current deal, which came after a 99-day lockout by the league that threatened the beginning of the 2022 season, expires Dec. 1. If there is no agreement by the time the deal lapses, MLB is expected to again lock out the players, causing a work stoppage that could jeopardize games in the 2027 season. During the opening presentations, sources said, the sides outlined their views on the game, noting challenges they see and opportunities to use labor negotiations as a tool to move it forward.
MLB owners, MLBPA reportedly set to begin labor negotiations soon, with salary cap at center of talks
May 4, 2026 // The current CBA won’t expire until 11:59 p.m. ET on Dec. 1. While starting negotiations in May or June could result in a deal ahead of that date, it seems unlikely, per The Athletic. If a deal isn’t reached by that date and time, the owners will likely lock out the players. That’s what happened in 2021, the last time a new labor deal was needed in the sport. That lockout lasted until March 2022. While spring training games were affected, the league was able to play a normal, 162-game slate during the 2022 season.
Commentary: Labor Strife Looms Over MLB Opening Day
March 26, 2025 // But even if the big-payroll teams strike out and midmarkets dominate the playoffs, owners are still going to seek a salary cap. A ceiling on their payroll expenses would boost the value of their teams, probably even the ones in major markets. Clark said in 2023 the union is "never going to agree to a cap," and there's no reason to think he or the players have changed their minds.
MLB players union expects lockout by team owners after CBA expires following 2026 season
March 4, 2025 // The salary cap is again an issue during this bargaining cycle. Team budgets are a major point of the discussion with the Los Angeles Dodgers building a payroll of an estimated $379 million, while the New York Mets aren't far behind at $312.5 million, according to Spotrac. (MLB's lowest payrolls are the Miami Marlins at $31.35 million and the Athletics at $55.25 million.) Clark counters by saying that several teams are already using the luxury tax threshold — in which teams are taxed 20-50% on the amount over the threshold, depending on how many years a franchise has done so — as a de facto salary cap. (This week, he criticized the Los Angeles Angels for doing so.) This year's luxury tax, or competitive balance tax, is set at $241 million.
NFLPA Investigating Own Role in OneTeam Amid Corruption Allegations
January 22, 2025 // The letter asks the recipients to save all documents related to OneTeam and lists two NFLPA executives for contact: assistant general counsel Heather McGee and general counsel Tom DePaso. A source said the NFLPA also hired Linklaters partner Richard Smith for the investigation. Smith has handled several high-profile investigations for the football union, including allegations brought by Colin Kaepernick; the Ray Rice domestic violence episode; the Miami Dolphins’ bullying investigation; and the New Orleans Saints’ “Bountygate” scandal. Smith did not reply for comment. The NFLPA, MLBPA, and RedBird Capital created OneTeam in 2019 to represent athletes and their lucrative group licensing deals. In 2022 RedBird sold its stake to a group of equity investors, including HPS Investment Partners and Atlantic Park, in a deal that valued OneTeam at $1.9 billion.
In swing states that once went for Trump, unions organize to prevent a repeat
October 1, 2024 // This year, UNITE HERE says it is once again mobilizing its members and plans to knock on more than 3 million doors in Nevada, Arizona, Pennsylvania, Ohio, North Carolina and Michigan “to ensure that Kamala Harris wins the presidency.” In Wisconsin, the Laborers are building political messaging into a union project to engage members more closely, “connecting union members with other union members,” Miller said, to explain how negotiations affect wages and health and retirement benefits, as well as the importance of increasing union representation.
Players’ union head blames quicker pitch clock after series of pitcher elbow injuries
April 9, 2024 // Cleveland’s Shane Bieber, Atlanta’s Spencer Strider, the New York Yankees’ Jonathan Loáisiga, Miami’s Eury Pérez and Oakland’s Trevor Gott are among the pitchers diagnosed with elbow injuries. “This statement ignores the empirical evidence and much more significant long-term trend, over multiple decades, of velocity and spin increases that are highly correlated with arm injuries,” Major League Baseball said in a responding statement. MLB said it is undergoing a research study into causes of increased injuries. It cited an analysis by Johns Hopkins that “found no evidence to support that the introduction of the pitch clock has increased injuries” and “no evidence that pitchers who worked quickly … or sped up their pace were more likely to sustain an injury than those who did not.”
PLAYERS’ ASSOCIATIONS WARN SPORTS ILLUSTRATED ON UNION BUSTING
March 7, 2024 // The AFL-CIO Sports Council, which launched in 2022 to assist athletes in unionizing, released the statement Monday. The warning doesn’t mention any specific consequence that could arise. However, players in those leagues could refuse to conduct interviews with SI writers and podcasters, decline to attend SI parties and otherwise boycott creation of SI content. For the storied publication, which for decades influenced the sports industry like no other, a loss of access to players and their unions would make reporting more difficult, and it would both diminish and delegitimize the SI brand.