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The players’ union already promised it would never accept a salary cap in Major League Baseball, but that didn’t stop the owners from proposing one Thursday.
The collective bargaining agreement between the MLB Players Association and the league’s owners is set to expire in December, and there are some pressing concerns that another lockout situation could occur. The last one was after the 2021 campaign, although both parties reached an agreement after 99 days.
Now the MLBPA has reportedly submitted its first proposal on how to hopefully find common ground in 2027 and beyond. ESPN’s Jeff Passan reported that the players’ first proposal centers on the fact that cheap owners refuse to spend money to upgrade their roster, as they suggested a “competitive integrity tax.”
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MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred opens the MLB Draft at The Coca-Cola Roxy on July 13, 2025. (Brett Davis/Image Images)
The owners opposed the proposal, which surprised no one, but they came back with their own. And it is the first time since the 1994-95 baseball strike that a salary cap has been proposed.
MLB’s proposal would set a salary cap of $245.3 million, while using figures for luxury tax payrolls that include benefits and the pre-arbitration bonus fund. The proposal also establishes a payroll floor of $171.2 million.
Several teams, including the Los Angeles Dodgers, New York Mets, New York Yankees, Toronto Blue Jays and Philadelphia Phillies, would be well over the limit if it were implemented today. The owners noted in the proposal that they would discuss a gradual schedule, which would give teams with the highest payroll spending the opportunity to meet the imposed salary cap.
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However, teams like the Miami Marlins, Cleveland Guardians, Tampa Bay Rays and Chicago White Sox, among others, would have to increase their payrolls to meet the proposed $171.2 million floor.
Additionally, an escrow system would be implemented with the union where all current contracts would remain guaranteed and there would be no prohibition on guaranteed contracts under a salary cap system. After all, players are always looking for guaranteed money whenever they hit free agency, especially in the MLB, when those times are lower than in other professional sports leagues.
The proposal will last seven years.
Aside from the important salary cap issue, MLB also proposed centralizing local media revenue equally among all 30 teams, while giving players a 50-50 split. The proposal would also eliminate the current revenue-sharing plan.
Los Angeles Dodgers’ Mookie Betts and Freddie Freeman celebrate after scoring against the New York Yankees during the fifth inning of Game 5 of the World Series in New York on Oct. 30, 2024. (Seth Wenig/AP)
“Our salary cap and floor proposal levels the playing field as we share baseball revenues with players 50/50 as we grow the game together,” MLB spokesman Glen Caplin said in a statement. “In addition, by sharing media revenue equitably as part of our proposal, we can address another top fan concern: local TV blackouts.”
While both sides are scrapping proposals before the summer even begins, talks typically intensify after the MLB season concludes. A deal shouldn’t be expected to be reached during the 2026 MLB season, but there’s always the slim chance that one side will meet the other halfway.
However, union leader Bruce Meyer’s statement clearly shows the tension between the two sides.
“Billionaire owners are not looking to limit their profits or the value of their assets, just player salaries,” Meyer said. “This is not out of generosity or a desire to protect the well-being of the game. It is a move to control costs, increase profits and maximize franchise values, all at the expense of past, present and future players.”
Aaron Judge of the New York Yankees rounds the bases after hitting a solo home run in the third inning against the Texas Rangers in Arlington, Texas, on April 27, 2026. (Tony Gutiérrez/AP)
It’s no secret that players want teams to keep spending, and those like Bryce Harper of the Phillies and Manny Machado of the San Diego Padres like what the Dodgers have done, spending around half a billion to build a team of superstars. It has worked, winning back-to-back World Series titles in 2024 and 2025.
As part of the MLBPA proposal, players also want to increase the minimum salary from $780,000 to $1.5 million, as well as raise the first threshold on the competitive balance tax from $244 million to $300 million. This would allow more teams to spend more money without paying the luxury tax.
While other leagues have implemented salary caps, most recently the NHL in 2005-06 after its lockout erased the 2004-05 season from the record books, the MLB has found no common ground to implement one.
And when players like Juan Soto are signing a 15-year, $765 million contract with the New York Mets, why would MLB players want to limit that kind of spending if an owner is willing to spread that contract?
Baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred announces that Major League Baseball and the Chicago Cubs will host the 2027 All-Star Game at Wrigley Field in Chicago. (David Banks/Image Images)
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“For generations, our members have fought against cap systems because they hurt players at all levels, erode or eliminate contractual guarantees, pit one player against another, cause more work stoppages, not fewer, and get worse for players over time,” Meyer said. “Caps do not reduce ticket prices for fans, eliminate tanking, or ensure that teams run with equal competition. They stifle competition by giving owners an all-purpose excuse for inaction and mediocrity.”
They will surely be contentious negotiations, but they are just getting started here as the 2026 season unfolds with the expiring collective bargaining agreement hanging over the sport. The agreement will expire on December 2.
