Tony Clark, executive director of the MLB Players Association, expects the league to implement a lockout after the 2026 season. “Unless I am mistaken, the league has come out and said there’s going to be a work stoppage,” Clark said, per Barry M. Bloom of Sportico. “So, I don’t think I’m speaking out of school in that regard.” The current collective bargaining agreement is set to expire on December 1 of 2026.
That quote is in response to some previous comments made by Major League Baseball commissioner Rob Manfred about a month ago. “In a bizarre way, it’s actually a positive,” Manfred said to Evan Drellich of The Athletic last month. “There is leverage associated with an offseason lockout and the process of collective bargaining under the [National Labor Relations Act] works based on leverage. The great thing about offseason lockouts is the leverage that exists gets applied between the bargaining parties.” He also praised a lockout as being preferable to in-season negotiations, saying that it’s “like using a .22 (caliber firearm), as opposed to a shotgun or a nuclear weapon.”
Clark disagreed in response at that time. “Players know from first-hand experience that a lockout is neither routine nor positive,” Clark said. “It’s a weapon, plain and simple, implemented to pressure players and their families by taking away a player’s ability to work.”
Relations between the league and the union have been combative in recent years and the current collective bargaining agreement was agreed to after a lockout which lasted several months. The previous CBA expired on December 1 of 2021 and the league instituted a lockout that very night. The negotiations continued into the spring, with a new agreement getting done on March 10 of 2022. That led to a rushed ramp-up to the 2022 season, though a full 162-game schedule was still completed via some scheduled doubleheaders.
Given that the relations between the two sides haven’t markedly improved, many in the baseball world expect another lockout to follow the expiration of the current CBA. Manfred’s comments only added to that suspicion and it seems Clark and the union are operating under that assumption.
There are many issues that will need to be discussed between now and then. There will be the ever-present topics of player compensation and revenue sharing, as well as more complex issues such as an international draft. The two sides are free to discuss these issues at any time but comments from Manfred make it seem unlikely that any progress will be made well in advance.
“I’m one that likes to bargain early, but we’re still two years away, even if you’re thinking you want to bargain early,” Manfred said about a month ago. “We got time on that front. And I think the time is particularly important right now, because we do have things going on in terms of the economics of the game — local media being the principal one — that the longer we wait, the more it evolves, the better decisions we’re going to make.”
From the players’ side, they seem to be assuming that Manfred is trying to generate leverage through the press. “I know that a lot of what Rob Manfred says in the media is posturing,” Giants third baseman Matt Chapman said recently to John Shea of the San Francisco Standard. “They’re all negotiating tactics. He tries to create his narrative.”
One topic that usually comes up in CBA discussions is a salary cap, though the MLBPA has always considered that a nonstarter. Evan Drellich of The Athletic recently reported that the owners are mulling a push for a cap when the next round of CBA talks gets going in earnest. David Rubenstein, principal owner of the Orioles, spoke publicly in favor of a cap in January. Clark, however, reiterated that the union has no desire to agree to such a measure.
“We remain of the mind, as we have over the last 50 or 60 years, that the industry does not need it,” Clark said today to Matt Weyrich of The Baltimore Sun. “It is not necessary. Whether it’s from a ‘competitive balance’ standpoint, or whether it’s from the ability of the industry to continue to grow and move forward, all of those things have happened in the absence of [a salary cap] and our game has thrived as a result.”
Many fans view a salary cap as the simplest way to combat certain inequities in baseball. That’s despite the fact that the sport hasn’t had recent dynastic runs like other leagues. MLB hasn’t seen a repeat champion since the 1998-2000 Yankees. There are huge gaps in terms of spending, with the Dodgers projected by RosterResource to have a $390MM payroll this year with some other clubs like the Marlins are down near $70MM. But despite that massive gap, those two clubs have the same number of World Series trophies over the past 35 years.
Still, there are fans of small-market clubs who feel overpowered when it comes to competitive balance. “There are ways of addressing the system that aren’t salary or cap related or require the restrictions of player salaries as the answer to every one of these questions,” Clark said, per Bloom. Presumably, Clark was referring to things like the fact that smaller-market clubs get extra picks in the draft via the competitive balance round as well as larger pools of bonus money to spend on international players, or perhaps the revenue-sharing agreements which could always be altered. Those measures have helped clubs like the Rays, Guardians and Brewers stay consistently competitive despite far less spending capacity than some of their fellow clubs.
The larger point is that MLB is in fairly healthy shape overall. Maury Brown of Forbes recently reported that the league’s revenues hit a record $12.1 billion in 2024, without even accounting for alternate revenue streams such as from commercial real estate projects connected to ballparks. Various metrics have suggested the implementation of the pitch clock has helped baseball’s popularity more generally, in terms of ticket sales and TV ratings. Clark seemed to reference that situation in comments relayed by Weyrich today, suggesting that the proposed cap is less about competitive balance and more about increasing profits for owners.
“At this point in time, despite the fact that there was an announcement that the industry itself is doing better than it ever has, despite the fact that there was an announcement that there’s more viewership and more attendance than it has been in the last 10 or so years, you’re hearing the rhetoric around a salary cap because there’s an interest in moving more of that revenue from one side of the equation to the other.”
I have it on good authority that a long work stoppage is coming and the owners have already prepared for it.
Who is your “good authority”?
Some of the guys I played with the minors in the late 80s, early 90s work in front offices now, so I hear things here and there.
You should start writing articles on here!! Then I’ll leave ten page long “comments” about unrelated Wisconsin sports!!
Reds – What do you consider to be a “long” work stoppage? Owners will not let an entire season be lost, I can guarantee that.
Their biggest leverage is they can start the lockout in the early part of the offseason. They don’t give a damn about losing April, May or even June games. They make the bulk of their money in August, September and of course the postseason.
Owners pulled the same crap in 2020 when the union wanted to start the season as soon as possible but the owners intentionally dragged their feet to ensure a bare-minimum 60-game regular season. All they wanted was their “playoff chases” and postseason revenue.
It’s too bad the union can’t call a strike midseason like they did in 1981 and 1994, then the players would have the leverage.
wtf – The articles here are usually good, but I get what you’re saying.
For instance the part in this article where he writes about the Dodgers having a projected $390M payroll and the Marlins near $70M. He tries to say money doesn’t matter by writing “despite that massive gap, those two clubs have the same number of World Series trophies over the past 35 years”.
Only one problem …. the Marlins spent their way to the 1997 World Series trophy. They had the 5th-highest payroll in MLB that year, and actually spent almost 10% more than the Dodgers that year.
They may not give a damn, but when the owners have locked out, very very few games are missed.
The 1972 players strike, which was the least significant of all the players strikes, cost more games than any of the owners lockouts.
Halo11Fan: That’s just a matter of semantics.
The longest stoppage ever, which cost us the 1994 World Series, was due to a player strike that was precipitated and dragged on by the owners’ refusal to negotiate, failure to bargain in good faith, and attempt to field replacement teams with scab players, all of which were ruled illegal and unfair labor practices by the NLRB.
It’s been written that the owners were spoiling for a work stoppage that year so they could break the MLBPA and impose a salary cap.
Halo – Now think for a minute …..
When owners lock out, it’s offseason for obvious reasons.
Players are not gonna go on strike during the offseason, what good would that do?
FPG: What’s stopping the MLBPA from striking midseason?
John – Why would he reveal that private information?
Yes people make stuff up on the internet, but my gut feeling is he’s telling the truth and the names of his sources don’t matter.
Blue – A little thing called a CBA.
Have you had your morning coffee yet?
FPG: They struck in 1994 anyway. And what’s up with the hostility?
Blue – They didn’t have a CBA when they went on strike in 1994, the previous CBA expired 12/31/93.
And wow I didn’t know you were so super sensitive that you would consider coffee/caffeine as “hostility”. I was actually being nice by giving you a a common out that people use all the time. But sorry, I’ll keep that in mind going forward.
FPG: What’s wrong with discussing the issue without feeling the need to give anyone an “out” with a gratuitous extra comment?
Blue – You don’t get it and likely never will, so I’m not gonna discuss it further.
I guess you don’t remember the many comments others have made to you in the past such as “getting up on the wrong side of the bed” which means being in a bad mood, being argumentative, etc.
As they say, no good deed goes unpunished …. but I assure you I won’t make that mistake with you going forward.
FPG: But you’re the one being argumentative now. Pot, meet Kettle.
Agreed. Owners are doing some “outside the box” things everywhere and some of these contracts are absurd. I hope I’m wrong but I feel like we may have a year stoppage or potentially longer, looming?
I hope we have a long one. Baseball is too distracting at times, and I need ot get some things done.
Quoth the raven nevermore.
Raven – That’s like saying you hope your local casino burns down so you won’t lose your paycheck there anymore.
How about practicing some self discipline?
I’m a huge baseball fan but I never let the sport prevent me from doing things that are more important.
Then don’t watch it! Simple as that! Thanks for dumb comment.
Absurd as in too low. The owners are billionaires and barely give any of it to the players who generate the income. The owners are leeches on society.
Lemme guess! You’re either a NY or a Dodger fan. Huge market teams seem to feel that every ownership group has the same amount of billions, and only THEIR owners “care” enough to pee money away like a fountain. Reds owner Bob Castellini is said to have $400 – 500 million. Even if you triple that, how in hell could he afford a Soto or an Ohtani?
Yep they’ll cry poor and take that excuse as far as it’ll get them. If baseball was as unprofitable as some owners would make you believe it is, wouldn’t the smart thing for these smart businessmen/women to do be to sell the team? Cut your losses before you’re too far in the red.
When the owners ask for a salary cap, the players should immediately ask for a salary floor. You’ll suddenly see less owners in favor of the cap if it meant there was a minimum amount they had to spend each year.
Small market clubs may never be able to afford generational talent in free agency but I’ve said it many times. Reward teams who sign their own players to four or more years by only applying 50% of the amount to the tax threshold limits. Such would likely result in more players staying with their existing club who theoretically should be offering more than other clubs. It also should result in larger returns for existing teams who trade the player.
GenoSeligPrieb: The correct and commonly used phrase is “to piss away.”
A cap for the owners is probably twice as valuable to them as a floor is to the PA. Even if they are offered a floor to the union it is still a non-starter.
Look at what NBA and NFL players make compared to MLB players, and they play significantly shorter seasons.
Exactly…something the players could try to use in next negotiations to get more money
I hope youre right. Let both sides feel the sting of their greed and miss an entire year of income. There’s plenty of money for both sides if they would act reasonably.
One thing I don’t understand is why doesn’t Clark get off his mediocre player derrière and get some negotiations going now? Strikes/lawsuits could be avoided with some proactive behavior instead crying about something totally 100% preventable.
The issues are the same now as in 2026.
I thought he and Chapman answered your question pretty clearly in the quoted comments. Of course the issues are the same now as in 2026, because they are the same as they were in 2021-22. Ownership will continue to push for a salary cap that they know the players will never accept.
@60s…His mediocre player backside?
Well that career .824 OPS of Clark’s is not mediocre.
60s fan: Because negotiations are a two-way street. Clark can’t do it unilaterally.
I don’t think Clark or the union have that type of foresight. Terribly run, imho.
fan – What exactly is Clark supposed to do?
Manfred doesn’t want to negotiate now. In fact he made it very clear he supports using a lockout for a new CBA, which makes him the villain here.
The players cannot strike until the current contract expires. so the ball is entirely in MLB’s court.
That’s the quickening and the looming tribulation you’re “sensing”…. Yes mlb will probably come to a “screeching” halt similar to a “work stoppage” but don’t worry too much cause day/night/seasons won’t cease!
Oh stop. This is sad.
It’s sad to watch a sport that you love be governed by a collective of ass clowns.
The sport has no marketing (Shohei could be a fun, diverse Tom Brady) and does not promote the changes that have made the game more fun to watch. The owners cry poor and the rich teams like the Dodgers take advantage of being, well, rich. Guaranteed contracts like Rendon strangle teams for countless seasons. Somehow it feels like the owners and the players have complete control of a broken system.
Yeah MLB go ahead and have a work stoppage. Sounds like a great idea.
Clark has his head in the sand and no concept of reality, just like Manfred.
Can Clark be replaced before this happens again?
His beard seems to be keeping him immortal. (Also not sure how much MLBPA leadership impacts the lockout potential, as the lockout is instated by the league/owner side.)
He can be replaced at any time. The players have his support so I don’t see that happening after he’s already negotiated one CBA. I don’t see what replacing him with another figurehead would achieve since he’s representing the players.
Funny how many fans are obsessed with firing Manfred and Clark, when the people who actually hire them don’t seem to be the least bit interested in doing so. This, for some reason, informs these fans not at all.
Maybe just easy targets for people to complain without digging a bit deeper?
I thought the story in March ’24 of the attempts to replace MLBPA’s Meyer with Marino was one of the more interesting stories about either side’s potential leadership changes.
I expected to hear Happ discuss it on his podcast but I must have missed it.
Sure. Some will ask, “but who speaks for the fans?” The inconvenient but right answer is the fans speak for themselves — with their wallets. Griping about Clark or Manfred is about as useful as howling at the moon. Their jobs are the same: capturing as much of the game’s revenue for their respective clients as possible. None of this should matter much to us, unless they can’t come to an agreement and cancel our game.
BlueSkies_LA
Funny how many fans are obsessed with firing Manfred and Clark,
=======================
Generally speaking, though certainly not always, one side or the other has better negotiators. I think Clark is getting beaten.
As a fan, I am not invested at all in trying to figure out who has the better negotiators. All I know is, if the PA ever comes to believe that Clark is not doing the job for them, he will be cut loose. Same for Manfred and MLB. The fact that both of them have kept their jobs for quite a long time now tells me all I need to know, and then some.
My only interest is that, if one side or the other comes in with a stupid demand, it increases the chance of a lockout.
Right, and of course you know a stupid demand when you see one,
Of course, depending on the level of the stupidity. There was stuff the last go-around that I knew was DOA. OTOH, I was stunned by how little the players took on the previous negotiation.
“Clark be replaced”..Don’t you mean can Scott Boras be replaced? In reality, Boras is the de facto leader of the MLBPA. Scott Boras likes the current rules that allow 80% of the free agent money spent to go to the top 4 or 5 players and leave everyone else(the other dozens upon dozens upon dozens of free agents)fighting for that last 25% piece of the pie.
If only some owners stopped enabling him, right? Get rid of Boras and someone else from CAA or Wasserman replaces him. You don’t have to like Boras but he’s not the problem. Owners can freely choose to swear him and his clients off.
I agree but certain teams (large market) won’t do that.
You don’t have to like Boras but he’s not the problem.
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I see no problem whatsoever. I can put YBC/Joe Brady on mute just as easily as the owners can put Boras on mute. He’s not doing anything illegal, and occasionally has some (self-serving) baseball insight.
That is an oversized pie at 105%…. ; )
Close enough for Jocks…..
That pie has been “inflated” for years Ha…. Btw, are U Clayton’s more athletic brother!?
Why start the hot dog wagging contest so early?
4% in terms of AAV goes to the top 22 players. That is far higher than the 8/10ths of 1% of players that they make up, but its about right in terms of the revenue they create.
Boras has more players under contract and for more money than any other agent. He also represents players up and down the pay scale. That you don’t like him because he is really, really good at his job of getting his clients the most money possible says volumes about you and not a damn thing about him.
YBC: They tried that a couple of times and got whacked by arbitrators for unfair labor practices and collusion.
Baron, several teams have signed no Boras clients as free agents and that is their right. They do not have to hire his clients as free agents. Since his clients represent a huge swath of the top players int he game, its not smart business to do so, but several do anyway.
It’s not on Clark, Its on Manfred and the owners. Manfred literally said that a lockout is a good thing.
‘In January, Manfred told The Athletic’s Evan Drellich that a lockout would be a good thing for the sport. “In a bizarre way, it’s actually a positive,” said Manfred.’
nytimes.com/athletic/6088697/2025/01/27/rob-manfre…
But one action looks virtually certain. Manfred said an offseason lockout, as there was in 2021-22, should be considered the new norm.
“In a bizarre way, it’s actually a positive,” he said. “There is leverage associated with an offseason lockout and the process of collective bargaining under the NLRA works based on leverage. The great thing about offseason lockouts is the leverage that exists gets applied between the bargaining parties.”
To which MLBPA executive director Tony Clark’s responded by saying that, “Players know from first-hand experience that a lockout is neither routine nor positive… It’s a weapon, plain and simple, implemented to pressure players and their families by taking away a player’s ability to work.”
If there is another lockout, it should end the MLB monopoly exemption. Manfred is a disgrace.
The way our Senators and Representatives can apparently be bought, it wouldn’t surprise me if MLB is in the pocket of a few highly influential DC decision makers… potentially keeping the antitrust exemption(s) in place. To be fair, I know nothing.
Gwynning Snow!
I snow nothing as well.
MLB’s “monopoly exemption” does not figure into this at all. It only covers MLB’s ability to set the number and location of franchises, a control all pro sports exercise without an exemption from antitrust laws. The courts have also decided that MLB teams can’t collude with each other on setting player salaries. This is why we have collective bargaining and a CBA.
Good point on collusion, but then why hide the books Bluey? Teams/Owners act with relative impunity; meanwhile, I am always happy to hear a player (all of them, really…) get paid well.
@Gwynning, Because it’s not in their interest to share that! If everyday fans discovered how much owners’ net profits were, it might a bit too disgusting for some fans to remain fans.
Others ( eg: Nutting) might have to significantly increase their personal. Fanatics will be just that.
Personal *security*
Because (except for the Braves), they are privately held corporations with no obligation to publicly disclose anything about their finances. You may remember back in 2020 when the owners were pleading poverty over the pandemic-shortened season, the players pushed the owners to turn over some of their financial information to show how much money they were really losing. Ownership refused. If the players don’t have any leverage to get the books more opened, then who does? I’ve always thought this was a highly unbalanced situation. If we can’t know anything about team profits, then why do we know how much every single player is paid right down to the dollar?
BlueSkies, it keeps players from working if they are locked out. MLB owns both the major and minor leagues. They also own a controlling share in two of the independent leagues, the Atlantic League and Frontier League. Players are prohibited from playing in those two leagues in the case of a lockout.
I’m not sure what you are saying. Major League players are not going to play in the minors if they are locked out. Also, the PA now represents both major and minor league players. The idea that somehow all of baseball’s problems from the point of view of the fans would be solved if they didn’t have an antitrust law exemption is just plain silly.
It is a monopoly because it keeps players from working if they are locked out. They have no other options for employment in baseball in the US. That you don’t understand that but are still trying to argue the point is really disconcerting.
Hah. That’s what I get for pointing out your point being pointless. Pro football players aren’t going to take up basketball if they were locked out. Does that make football a monopoly too?
“Players know from first-hand experience that a lockout is neither routine nor positive… It’s a weapon, plain and simple,
==========================
As is a strike.
That’s up to the player’s union, unless you’d prefer the deep state sign an executive order?
League record revenue? Let’s have a lockout!
I always think that’s a funny statement. Record revenue has nothing to do with profits. As revenue goes up, so does operating expenses. So record revenue has no correlation to profits.
Who mentioned profits?
Except operating expenses of the two teams that are required to reveal those publicly have gone down over the last 3 seasons.
Profits? Well those are up 21% and 27% for those two teams.
jon,
“As revenue goes up, so does operating expenses.”
How is that an automatic parallel while “record revenue has *no correlation* to profits?”
Unless operating expenses go up at a higher rate than revenue increases, then profits go up as well.
We only know what the revenues, operating expenses, and profits are for two teams, the Braves and Blue Jays, because they are owned by publicly traded companies. Those two teams have reported increasing profit levels from 2022 to 2024.
Heck yeah, more “$$” to be fighting over…. I mean what else is there to do while “your woman” is off being pleasured by “real” men that dgaf about fake inflated “$$/power”..pshff
Would you prefer a strike in July. That’s exactly what will happen if they can’t work out an agreement.
Get a CBA done, then let’s play baseball.
1981 strike. 1994 strike. 1972 strike. Do you even remember the lockouts?
I think a total of six games per team were missed during the two lockouts.
Players can only strike during the season, and I’m not sure they’re even allowed to do that these days. Owners lock out the players during the offseason. They are two very different circumstances in terms of games missed.
Of course they are two different things with two different results.
I’d rather get the bickering and threats out of the way in February than July.
I don’t want to start a season without a CBA.
Would you prefer a strike in July.
=======================
Good point. I’d much prefer a lockout. It won’t bother me to start the season a month late and only play 140 games. I definitely don’t want to see a season start with my team in 1st, only to see the players cancel the season.
The players can’t cancel the season, only the commissioner – who works for the owners – can do that.
The players could clearly stay out on strike past December.
It semantics to say the players can’t cancel the season.
It’s less than semantics. The players can decide to stop playing anytime they want. It’s the reason for a lockout.
The owners are prepared for it, and will surely lock the players out. But do they have a plan for what to do next? I don’t think they do. Several large market team owners will probably buck a hard cap and the transperency that comes with it, and small market teams will probably oppose a floor.
The players will punt the season to avoid a hard cap. And that may be the most likely outcome. It is truly a slow-motion train wreck.
The owners have other income sources. The players don’t, unless they go work ar Amazon or Walmart.
I made that point during he last lockout… There will obviously be concessions, but the owners will get a LOT more of what they want than the players ever will for this very reason.
And if it’s an extended lockout, say losing a season? That’s 10%-ish (or more) of an entire MLB career for many (most?) players.
Far more than 10% of a career for most players. The average MLB career is a little over 5 years, which would put one year around 20%..
Only 7% of all MLB players last 10 years or 10%.
Average length of an MLB career is around 3 years (no doubt skewed quite a bit by guys who just have proverbial “cup of coffee” in the Show. So yes, a lockout has a large effect on many/most players.
It’s the minor league players that usually get screwed, everyone else is rich or well off.
Actually, it’s the people who pay the minor league salaries are the ones that get screwed.
Very very very few minor league teams make a profit.
Yet they keep buying them, bizarre.
Eh Reds, some if not most players do have side income nowadays. In recent talks with many players, I can’t recall one saying they don’t own or operate “something” on the side. Musgrove has coffee shops, Melancon has a turf business, Machado (partially) owns the SD soccer club, etc. Etc.
If I made their money, I’d invest for something post-career too.
100%! Cheers buddy
The MLBPA has an estimated $2.3 billion fund set aside to help players in the case of a lost season. They started funding it 18 months before the last CBA negotiations and its grown substantially since then. They can’t cover the entire $4.8 billion that players are estimated to earn this season, but $2+ billion would make a huge dent in that. Players are prepared.
Just defer it all what’s the worst that could happen?
Nice beard bro.
700M isn’t enough players should be making more than the ownership groups.
lol
Now this is zanny!
Yeah, looks like someone quit midway through his economics course. Not to mention their history course, explaining what has happened to every country that used that business idea as their platform.
They became Norway?
Sarcasm is not your strong suit, is it? Did that one fly over your head or did it bounce off, Canseco?
In addition Ohtani should own Dodger Stadium and half of downtown LA. Soto should get the controlling stake of Amazon.
Norway? I;m not sure you know or understand Norway, but it is in no way the country you believe it to be.
A bunch of people in spikey helmets pillaging undefended monasteries right? I don’t think the boat owner’s share was that big, though it’s hard to put a number value on the blessings of Odin.
Who axed you?
Wish Manfred was already gone so he wasn’t part of this whole process as a lame duck.
He’ll pretend to be a middleman arbiter for this next CBA, probably bungle it all up and then ride off into the sunset with our beautiful game in disarray. Such a shame.
Exactly how I see it
I’m honestly surprised that the owners didn’t give him more crap for the stunt he pulled on the Braves and the City of Atlanta. If they did it was behind closed doors.
Well, at least Atlanta got to keep the franchise name? The Mistake-by-the-Lakers got shanked on that end.
It’s a one-game penalty to show how woke BB is. It was like when the RS canceled a game in support of JBJ’s feelings, but still managed to make it up later.
Manfred basically said “we’ll postpone it a couple of years to make it look like we care”.
Where is Sotamayor when we need her? A work stoppage is virtually like Thanos-inevitable. In theory the owners can out-last the players, but, the lack of unity among the owners and definitely the courts may determine otherwise.
With no CBA, I don’t think there’s much the courts can do. And just how united are the players? They just had a failed coup attempt.
I believe this is correct. Without a contract to enforce, there is nothing courts can do in the sense of penalizing one side over the other.
The players started setting up a fund to deal with the financial difficulties for players caused by work stoppages 18 months before the last CBA negotiations. That fund has doubled in size. They are prepared and unified. You may have noticed that Clark came out of that stronger than before and the other guy is gone.
web after it failed, the other guy had to go. The issues that caused it remain though. Clark only showed he had more support, not that he has all the support. Let the lockout leak over into the start of the season and we’ll see right quick how united they are.
The issue that caused it was the other guy, Harry Marino. He tried to force out Bruce Meyer, the negotiator that got the players a $20 million jump of the lowest threshold of the CBT, a 25% raise on MLB minimum salary, a $50 million bonus pool for arbitration-eligible players, a draft lottery to prevent tanking, incentives for teams to stop manipulate service time, a minor league union approved, and so far in this CBA an increase in payrolls that amounts to an additional 4% of total revenue going to players,
Marino had been instrumental in getting minor league players into the MLBPA and Clark made an almost fatal mistake. He allowed too many minor league players, 34 in total, into the executive board and Marino used them to try to push his agenda. Marino also only contacted some players and player reps while leaving others in the dark about what he was attempting to do. Those kind of dealings were not looked at kindly by the players and teams left in the dark.
When push came to shove, Marino lost and he was forced out instead. In the formal vote of the executive board that followed, Clark won a super majority of votes, 54 out of 72. Marino lost his coup d’état attempt and his job.
More than that, the MLB players that were part of the attempted coup d’état were also voted out by MLBPA members. Jack Flaherty, Lucas Giolito and Ian Happ were the player reps on the eight member executive subcommittee that were voted out. Players as a whole did not back both the method used by Marino in his takeover attempt nor his ideas and they showed that by also removing anyone that had been close to him from decision making positions in the union.
Thanks for the detailed info Pads Fan. The PA did all the right things after the coup attempt but the players themselves are still around and every year more and more of the minor leaguers are coming to the majors. I still question if, when push comes to shove, just how united are they. Of course I question the same thing about the owners.
It’s like trying to unify the lords or the land against the king. Trying to incite millionaires to rise up is probably pretty difficult.
She’s on the Supreme Court now.
No kidding. 🙂
Where’s Condoleezza Rice?
Saw Condy golfing at Augusta.
Can I pretend Iron Man is a relief pitcher?
Well baseball fans have seen this coming for nearly a decade with Manfred as commissioner. I just hope he will still get a paycheck every other week while he finally kills the sport. I am more curious to see how many TV contracts go past the 2026 season that will have to pay even if no product is available to watch and sell to consumers
A month ago I moved back to Alaska from WI.. after moving thousands of miles from their “home state,” it will now make it far easier for me to watch Brewers baseball again.. how pathetic.. how does manfred still have a “job”..
Hawaii in the 80s-90s was similar. It felt like we got a baseball broadcast sent to us in a bottle! Try being on the most isolated land mass on Earth and staying up-to-date without zee interwebs or satellite/cable, haha!
Good times!
You know, every time you say Manfred, just replace that with “The Owners” because he only says exactly what they want him to say. So if you hate Manfred, if you think he’s an idiot and doesn’t care about baseball, remember who is paying him and who would remove him from his position in about 3 seconds if he did anything at all that they didn’t want.
that could quite possibly be the most accurate “comment” I’ve ever read here, why do owners hate everyone/baseball so much, I mean isn’t it obvious they want us all dead.. money driven demons, gross, freaking sick..
If it were not for the fans, major sports would go away. Let them go on strike so we can stop going to games or watching them on TV.
If it weren’t for the fans, lots of things would go away.
Players are not talking about a strike. The owners have said they will lock the players out during the offseason.
I took it as da6 saying “Strike first” but that complicates matters considerably more… maybe it’s a legitimate tactic this time though. Either way I’m keeping my hose warm, I’ll be a scrub for any team. Hmu for my email or telly, POBOs!
The players cannot strike during the offseason, they can only go on strike during a season if no CBA is reached.
Let’s all go be baseball scabs while the “players” collect from their billion$ “fund” ha
There can be no “scabs” if the owners lockout the players. There will simply be no major league or minor league baseball.
Dude lol, if the players are “locked out” and other people play..temporarily.. in their place, well that’s literally a “scab”…. Because more than likely it’s just “MLBPA” members that would be locked out, if MLB signed other payers, well they’d be “un-unionized” Major League Baseball players therefore “scabs” ha obviously “Gwynning” and his “warm hose” are probably staying warm for nothing, but hopefully “gwynning” has a wife with a use for that “hose”…. Or is that a different “hose”…. Who knows, just either way keep those ”women” pleasured and well, life’s problems begin to just seemingly disappear!!
The solution to out of control salaries originates in the process of the QO. If a team loses their player, they can choose another player off the roster, regardless who they are that signs the player. Example, If the Orioles lost Burnes to the Yankees, Baltimore could take Aaron Judge as compensation. If the Jays lost Guerrero to the Dodgers, they could take Ohtani as compensation. That balances out the compensation and if say Boston signed a free agent, the team would have the option to take Campbell or Roman Anthony as compensation. That would also be based on years or salary signed for. The higher the amount, the higher the compensation awarded. That balances the large against small market teams and the players can blame themselves since they created the monster by refusing to compromise.
Now this is zanny!
Ahhhh… never gunna work Ashley. But nice try.
Ashleyr with a bizarre “solution” on top of placing all the blame on players.
The solution to out of control salaries
==========================
The salaries are already controlled by the free market.
“IF” (+that there is a “BIG”….“if”) that “free market” was actually free…. I definitely don’t want some leftist less free junk…. but my goodness, this illusion of “free market”…. It’s “capitalism” not a “free market”….Not at all.
That’s the most ridiculous thing I’ve ever read.
“MLB hasn’t seen a repeat champion since the 1998-2000 Yankees. There are huge gaps in terms of spending, with the Dodgers projected by RosterResource to have a $390MM payroll this year with some other clubs like the Marlins are down near $70MM. But despite that massive gap, those two clubs have the same number of World Series trophies over the past 35 years.”
This is such a disingenuous statement, considering the Marlins actually spent money to win their first title. Same with the 2001 Diamondbacks. They might be a small market, but they had a top 5ish payroll that season.
This. The apologists always return to who wins the World Series, when that’s not what critics talk about at all. We all admit the playoffs are more or less random. But the key is who gets that chance every single year, and who gets a chance once every 5 or 6. That’s the inequity. Baseball’s so-called parity rests entirely on the small sample randomness of the playoffs, and the clumpy distribution of mega teams, which tend to the coasts. Yes Cleveland and Milwaukee are successful, but that’s because we don’t have big spenders in the Central divisions by sheer luck.
It’s not luck…. It’s the “poor” midwest…. u know the place we grow all our food/get nearly all our resources, pshff theres “no $$” there….lol…. Again just moved back to Alaska, lived in MI/WI the last decade+, Midwest prices match/exceed prices here in AK it’s insane, I can go to Costco in Anchorage and save $$ compared to living in Hudson WI, its nuts.. I suppose that’s what happens when u turn WI into Mexico eh lol.. Theres no business to be done on a dead planet.. so, what good is all that $$ when there’s nothing left to buy, we need farmers..
“This is such a disingenuous statement, considering the Marlins actually spent money to win their first title.”
So…. you’re acknowledging that the issue is small market teams choosing to not spend enough.
Yes, as shocking as it sounds, you have to spend money to win a World Series.
issue is small market teams choosing to not spend enough.
===============================
Choosing? That’s a bit like saying the folks in the South Bronx are choosing to not buy a Porsche.
Hilarious but not necessarily “true” lol
D’backs had the #8 payroll in 2001. The Marlins never got higher than 14th.
The Marlins went all-in and had a high payroll in 1997; top 5 or thereabout. I think you’re think of 2003. stlsports.com/articles/ja.mlbsalaries.html
Screw them all.
True it takes both sides to screw it up.
“sufferfornoone” is your next username?
I guess the lockout is now a baseball tradition. Both sides of this have poor leadership. It’s not a good look but they don’t seem to care.
Hit ’em in the pocketbook and people will start caring real quick!
Too bad u can’t just kick them in the dick, unfortunately nothing seems to happen lol
BB has missed a game in over 30 years. It’s probably not the disaster you make it out to be.
* hasn’t missed *
I seriously don’t know if I can tolerate another labor dispute and lockout. The last one was brutal and I bet this one will be worse. I’d be stunned if there aren’t regular season games lost. If my team ends the year on a sour note and then there is another work stopage thatight push me away forever.
I seriously don’t know if I can tolerate another labor dispute and lockout. The last one was brutal
==============================
Again, we haven’t missed a game in over 30 years. Is that your definition of “brutal”?
Thanks to the Dodgers….part of me thinks they grossly overspent on purpose to cause this.
I heard the Dodgers authorized the invasion of Ukraine.
Putin owns the Dodgers? Now EVERYTHING in my life makes sense…
Isn’t it time that negotiations start soon? Let’s not wait until the last minute. At least some things can be worked out ahead of time.
The sky is falling! The sky is falling!
The next CBA should address deferred money vs the luxury tax. It should also set a salary floor. One will be unpopular with players the other with certain owners. Both would benefit fans across the board outside the obvious few.
What is the problem with deferred money? The NPV is accounted for in CBT calculations.
I deferred part of my salary for the past 30 years.
LAD with $300MM+ committed to payroll for 2027. Miami with $5MM committed for 2027. Who’s gonna be hurt by an extended lockout?
Definitely not the team that suddenly doesn’t have to pay $300MM.
Gotta imagine baseball contracts are worked out so no play/no pay if there’s a stoppage huh
Correct Chucky
nooooooo
I hope they implement better revenue sharing with a salary cap/floor. I also want then to focus on getting rid of blackouts, making it more of a national sport rather than a regional one. They should also implement an international draft as opposed to free agency. A salary cap/floor doesn’t mean players earn less.
Owners like Jerry Reinsdorf will fight tooth and nail against a salary floor. Problem is that owners like Jerry are part of the good old boys, they aren’t used to being told what to do, they will not fall in line. I’m not defending these jerks, just that, it’s going to be an ugly time for baseball in 2026.
He’s 89 and reportedly trying to sell.
He’s not going anywhere, and father time has not caught up with him. We’re stuck with him…
Increased revenue sharing – Sounds great, let the owners work out their differences instead of making the players pay for it.
Salary cap – A soft one already exists with the CBT.
Salary floor – Non-existent except for the weak threat of an MLBPA grievance.
A salary cap/floor almost certainly would mean players earn less.
An international draft would lower signing bonuses, harming players’ ability to negotiate the best deal possible.
I don’t understand why so many fans endorse socialism that benefits owners while espousing capitalism in most other aspects of life.
I disagree – it would more make it so bad teams will take on bad contracts signed by others to get over the floor in exchange for prospects – ie: I’ll take your bad contract to get myself over the floor but you must include prospect xyz or significant international cap space.
Ha ha, seriously, it’s insane the water some people carry for owners while somehow blaming Manfred.or “out of control” players salaries. I mean, who do you think pays the players? Exactly who forces owners to pay players “insane” salaries? Is it because, just maybe, if we knew how the finances of owners worked, we would see how they make more then the players for their amazing talent of *checks notebook* being born rich or being a venture capitalist (who was probably born rich).
The lockout will not be about a salary cap. The players will oppose it at all costs and not even all the teams want one.
Players already offered both a floor and cap. Owners were unwilling to open books, so players said no. Without the owners opening the books and 100% revenue sharing of all money earned, neither will ever happen.
Oddly, “The Replacements” was on TV yesterday and I watched a bit of it. Apropos.
Rip Gene
Hackman would be a cool ballplayer’s name. RIP Gene
Rip Hackman would a great name.
Can’t be replacement ballplayers unless there is a strike by the players. A lockout does not allow the owners to do that.
Last time there was a significant work stoppage I didn’t watch a game for the next 6 years. The 1998 steroid-fest did not bring me back. I’ll be happy to do it again if these clowns don’t figure out the proper way forward.
An NHL style year long lockout would be disastrous for MLB. With these two buffons running the show a disaster is all but certain
If they know about a problem, they should solve it now.
?
Aww…poor babies, life in the sweat shop what a hoot.
This is the U.S. not the People’s Republic of China, MPrck. I’m sorry capitalism and mutual contracts bother you.
Millionaires vs billionaires. Next.
Have you told mother?
… telling your mother right now.
Neither of them will suffer in this fight. As a fan, you will. Ancillary workers will. Businesses around stadiums will.
It’s interesting how, these days, the so-called working man roots for billionaires; interesting as in dumb.
It explains a lot in the USA right now though – such as the last election and those who are super-pro Elon Musk despite everything he has done.
MLBPA under Clark’s leadership appears to be in a weakened state (see his attempted ouster). However, if owners demand any deal include a salary cap the MLBPA would unify and circle the wagons quickly. Where do the newer owners stand? Certainly might be able to divide and conquer the haves vs have-nots in the ownership group and hold off any cap. Who knows, maybe some unseen occurrence pops up (See covid) and the can is kicked down the road another 5 years.
Clark won that fight decisively and it was never about ousting him, it was about ousting Bruce Meyer, the lead negotiator in the last CBA. .
Passive Tony needs to go !
What’s bigger, Tony Clark’s beard or his sense of self importance and ego? This guy constantly complains about the state of the league, but doesn’t provide anything constructive to meet the owners half way or move the Players’ Association toward a better future. What the h is “speaking out of school”? Is that just a Boomer phrase?
What lives in that beard?
What does “meet the owners half way” mean? Seriously, on what topics should the players give in more than they have?
GBS, Reynaldo spends too much time watching Fox. He really has no clue.
First off, I do not care for your wanton disrespect of Tony’s venerable wizard beard sir lol!
Clearly you don’t understand how labor negotiations work. The time to “meet halfway” is not before bargaining even begins. If mlbpa leadership was pre-emptively acting conciliatory and compromising with ownership at this stage they would be failing their membership and would deserve to be ousted.
Absolutely no doubt that, before this is over, there will be players struggling to put food on the table, and owners that will be bankrupt if they need to pay one more dollar.
Spending too much or too little is entirely an owner issue. Not sure what the point of fighting with players to “fix” it is.
Everyone’s looking at the lockout as just another owners vs. players fight over salaries, but in reality, this might be a calculated disruption to reshape the economics of baseball entirely.
Bingo Yorkie!
My gut is the owners will push at first for a salary cap, then might push for limits on individual contracts (5 years max, some limit to per year salary, maybe start at $70 mil, then growing by 5% per year or something). Players would fight to the death over it though. I could see a year limit maybe getting in, but around 10 years, not 5.
Why do I have a feeling this is your wish list and not the owners?
I’m guessing at their wish list – the 10+ year contracts will probably be seen as a terrible idea, just like the last time they were popular in the 70’s/early 80’s. The odd 8+ year one was given out in the early 00’s but not too many (A-Rod, a few others who at the time appears HOF locks if not for their PED use). Generally deals 8+ years long are massive risks for the teams, minor risks for the player. An upper limit to what an individual player can make per year would also be an effective salary cap without being one which owners could try to split the players – cut how much the top guys get so more can be paid to lower end guys (not how it would work, but they could try to sell it that way).
Any talk of any sort of Cap will be retorted with a necessary Floor. It’s the only way to make it all work out proper…
Gwynning, the players want a larger share of total revenue in the sport. That is their main goal. In every other major sport in the Us players have a guaranteed percentage of total revenue and the books of that sport are wide open to the union.
In order for the owners to get a salary cap, they will have to do several things. #1 is open the books to the union knows exactly what the teams are earning in revenue. The 2nd is to guarantee the players a minimum amount of total revenue for the sport. For other major sports that guarantee is between 48-51%. The 3rd is 100% revenue sharing between the teams. Meaning ALL media is through MLB and then is split into equal amounts for each team.
I doubt the owners are willing to do any of those things.
The principal parties are who? Ownership groups; the players, and the fans. Except that the fans are basically silent, with no seat at the table. This, despite the fact that the fans basically pay all of the bills. Not only that, taxpayers foot the bill in part for most stadium deals as well, which should also give a seat at the table.
It is too easy for us to look at what players make and be appalled, while we ignore the oh so sweet deal that it is to be an owner. A protected market; little to no financial transparency, a built in equity dividend that has been almost unfathomable over time and very little leverage over bad owners a la the Fishers and Nuttings et al.
Meanwhile, I would have more respect for the player’s association if they focused their efforts not just on their share of the pie, but how it is parceled out. The top deals are insanely overpaid and do not truly reflect the actual difference in value of a star vs. a solid starter vs. the bottom of the roster. And they should also be looking out for the minor leaguers as well to better effect.
And then the fans – when I was a kid we were certainly not in the clover. Lower middle class, and yet we could afford to go to pro games and get seats, food and drink and not have to take out a mortgage. Today solidly middle class plus families have to make this a special treat. We have a harder and harder time seeing the games, even as we pay a lot more for the privilege on TV as well. Popularity is down, and the owners simply do not see things clearly, while the players are too intent on their own issues to grasp the bigger picture as well.
Baseball is a great game, and it is basically still healthy…but the cracks are showing and the arrogance of ownership and Manfred is not going to help things to get better.
In Philly we have one of the best owners in the game – he simply gets it. He understands the concept of stewardship and that the team is not his plaything, his toy, his hobby or simply an investment. We need more owners like him.
Now this is zanny, part III!
Great post Carver.
How many car owners have a seat at the table when auto companies and auto workers negotiate???
Middle class fans can’t afford games because owners charge what the market will bear and cater to high-end customers. Player payroll and ticket, merch, parking prices do not correlate very closely.
If player payroll implied ticket prices then college games would be free or extremely cheap. Are they? (note: that is a rhetorical question)
100% correct. As it is with every other company. A lot of time and effort is put into getting prices exactly right. When my local diner has more business than it can handle, they probably add on a few cents to every price. If it is empty, they cut prices.
I can’t believe the players have not fired Tony Clark yet.
Found Harry Marino’s burner.
Why would the players fire a guy that just got them a $20 million bump in the CBT threshold, a 25% increase in MLB minimum salary, a $50 million bonus pool for pre-arb eligible players, an end to service time manipulation, a rule that removes revenue sharing from teams that refuse to spend, and what has amounted to a 4% increase in the share of total revenue of the game? Oh, and brought all minor league players into the union and vastly increased their pay and playing conditions.
Exactly where has he done that warrants being fired?
The players mantra is that they will never agree to a percentage of the gross.
The owners mantra is that they hope the players never ask for a percentage of the gross.
Labor peace for 30+ years.
Owners, Commissioner and Executive Director of the MLBPA are all bums who care zero about the fans. This could be adverted and they would all be considered heroes but it’s more of a pissing contest between millionaires and billionaires who care nothing about the game
Players can’t avert a lockout. It is executed by the owners. If you don’t like that the owners are planning to do it, reach out to them.
Wonder what would happen if the players went on strike right before the 2026 World Series?
Well, all existing contracts would be voided I believe… no?
Contracts are still in place. They just do not get paid for the rest of the 2026 season.
I do not believe that players can strike while under contract. Only if they go back to work while there is no CBA in place. So if they did not reach an agreement for a new CBA prior to the 2027 season but agreed to go play games under the terms of the old CBA while they continued to negotiate, but decided at some point during the 2027 season that no new CBA was possible, at that point they could strike.
If the players went on strike just before the playoffs, they would take away 20% of MLB’s total annual revenue. The playoffs are a period where players have already been paid 100% of their salary and are earning practically nothing unless they win. Its the owners that are raking in cash during the playoffs.
The owners will not allow that to happen. They will lockout the players until a new CBA is agreed upon, hoping that leverage will help them win points. They are willing to do that at the cost of hurting tens of thousands of employees outside of the players and all the businesses that rely on MLB games being held. It is a nuclear option and apparently the owners, and by extension Manfred, think that is the new normal.
In the proposed scenario (Strike before Postseason/WS this year…) then that would be considered a breach and I *think* all contracts are voided in a CBA breach. I really don’t know for sure though… but I doubt the players go nuclear. They would be the hated side.
Sounds to me like Clark is not preparing to negotiate in good faith. Already made the decision that there will be a stoppage. Sounds about right.
Clark isn’t the one threatening a work stoppage. He’s planning for the likelihood of owners locking the players out. How did you misread this?
Lockouts simply mean they’ll work out agreement without striking during the season.
Doesn’t everyone want this to work itself out February or March instead of July or August?
S/b done by early December… but won’t. Lawyers will need to draw it out ad infinitum.
Found Manfred’s burner. Manfred already said there would be a lockout. That comes from the owners, not the players.
Never ever underestimate the greed of billionaires and multi-millionaires for more, more, more,,,,,
The Commissioner, who works for 30 billionaire owners, is in-favor of a lockout that will only be felt by the workers (players, coaches, trainers but also SEASONAL stadium staff).
[Insert “I am shocked…. SHOCKED that there is gambling in here!” GIF]
Why do the players who are never going to get contracts like the top 5% battle to make sure the top 5% can make even more money? They should be fighting to get more for the bottom 95%.
The minimum salary jumped with the last CBA, and there’s a bonus pool (something like $50M) that gets split among the top 100 young players. These were good steps, and I want more of them. $1M minimum salary in 2027, as one example.
Gbs42. I don’t think this will be a big deal. I can’t see where either side has much to argue about.
Until I hear about the owners wanting a cap, I’m confident things will work themselves out.
The CBT threshold jumped $20 million which helps all players, MLB minimum jumped up 25%, $50 million went into bonus pool for pre-arb players, service time manipulation was cut drastically by giving teams benefits for calling those players up sooner, teams can now be penalized for not spending their revenue sharing money which means even lower revenue teams will spend more benefiting all players, and minor league players were brought into the union. Almost all of the monetary benefits gained in the last CBA went to lower level players.
Get rid of extra inning runner rule. The rule added unearned wins to the game.
The owners will not stand united and will crack as they’ve historically done so it’s only a matter of time!
Owners want players to make less, players want to earn more. Not surprising. Neither side particularly romantic about it…very little thought, if any, about what the fans think. Both sides want as much leverage as possible. Nothing new there. Owners will continue to ask state and local governments for free money–again, nothing surprising there. Owners would like a cap, players a floor…..not likely to happen, but you never know. Gonna get a little ugly, tax our patience and our vocabulary (for variants of “greedy” etc. No, there aren;t a lot of owners who “want what’s good for the game.” And, no, there aren’t a lot of players who think they should accept lower salaries so lower revenue teams can have smaller payrolls.
Hard cap, hard floor, get rid of loopholes.
Having different WS winners does not define parity. Having the rich clubs buy their way to a nearly guaranteed playoff spot every year with all stars while others have to hope for lightning in a bottle or have to tear down/rebuild for a 3 year window is not parity. Having small market teams complain they aren’t making enough but pocket the revenue sharing $ makes no sense either.
If it costs the 2027 season to make sure baseball is around in 2035, 2040, 2050…that may be the price to pay.
Salary cap is never going to happen. Players are united against it, and, some owners don’t want it. Not happening.
A real Baseball Commissioner would be able to work out fair and equitable agreements. He should retire and be replaced by someone who doesn’t dance to the tune of the latest opinion by oligarchs.
And to all the Jed Hoyer naysayers out there–THIS is exactly why he operates as he does.
Tom Ricketts, like him or hate him, has been preparing for this for quite a while now.
He had no way to predict the Covid happenings and got burned by it badly. If you understand that the family not only owns the Cubs, but dozens of businesses around Wrigleyville and the Marquee network–you understand that if there is no baseball, there is no (or drastically reduced) revenue coming in.
Do you think it’s a coincidence with the exception of Dansby that all the key players contracts expire after the 2026 season (Happ, Seiya, Taillon, Boyd, Hoerner)? Ricketts has known this was possible for a long time as is not extending his empire into 2027 and beyond.
Lack of deferred contracts? Hey, if you have a lack of revenue coming in, you have no way to fund investments that build and become payable in 6-8-10 years.
I’m sure Jed would have loved to have been in on the Soto sweepstakes or would have extended Tucker before his plane landed in Chicago, but I’m am willing to bet that Tom has a pretty strict budget, up to or close to the tax limit and that is that.
I’ve been a season ticket holder for many, many, many years and to me it’s kind of like Monopoly money—but to Ricketts I will at the very least respect that it is 100s of millions of dollars in revenue that is not coming in and he’s not going to expose himself to like what happening five years or so ago.
And I certainly don’t know what is in Dansby’s contract, but I am sure that players, after Covid, are beginning to add getting paid no matter what clauses in their agreements.
I will have no problem admitting I am wrong if that is the case, but there are too many things lining up to the end of the 2026 season to make me feel any different at this point.
The Owners, in particular, and the players never learn.
It took years for attendance & fan loyalty to return in full after the last lockout, yet the Two Stooges of Baseball are ramped up to be IDIOTS once again!
To paraphrase, Albert Einstein, to do the same thing Over & Over Again, you Morons, is a sign of Abject STUPIDITY!
The last lockout was three years ago, so how could it have taken years?
Has there ever been a lockout that cancelled more than a handful of games?
I think Mantle’s referring to 1994-95
After COVID attendance has grown in 2022, 2023, and 2024.
Last lock out was extended by a few foolishly stubborn owners who ended up hurting everyone.
The off-season is the time for work stoppages. They almost always get done. It’s when the players strike mid-season that there are long work stoppages.
great, more “owners are greedy!” v “players are greedy!” Manicheanism, as if both sides are not at fault. Players bring fans through the gate, owners pay for players and stadiums etc. And who is left out? fans.
Clark is going to win by fooling the owners into thinking he’s Santa Claus.
“Clark seemed to reference that situation in comments relayed by Weyrich today, suggesting that the proposed cap is less about competitive balance and more about increasing profits for owners.”
SO stupid.
Do you know what increases profits for the owners? The part where revenues keep rising while the players share of those revenues declines…which is what has been happening for years in MLB now.
Get a cap and floor system pegged to a % of revenues and those owners will be CONTRACTUALLY OBLIGATED to spend that money on your players.
NFL, NBA and NHL players all get roughly 50%.
MLB players get about 39%.
The owners laugh.
NFL, NBA, and NHL all have open books to the players union. That is the only way they know if they are getting a guaranteed percentage of revenue going to the players. MLB owners have refused to do so. The MLBPA offered a hard cap in 2016 in return for the owners opening their books and a 48% share of total revenue. The owners refused.
NFL, NBA, and NHL media rights belong to the league, not the individual teams and teams share all revenue equally. Do you really think that the NY teams, Boston, LA, Philadelphia, and the other few largest market teams are going to agree to that?
The MLBPA says that the player’s share of total revenue has gone from an estimated 37% prior to the beginning of this current CBA to 41% today A 4% increase.
One of the issues they will run into is how many of the teams now own their broadcast partners (or in the case of the Jays are owned by the broadcaster). How do you value that? The Jays pull more viewers than any other team yet I would guarantee their TV contract is nowhere near the highest as it works better for Roger’s books to not have that money show up on the Jays side of the ledger. There would be a lot of situations like that to untangle.
A lot of new stadiums are being built like housing/shopping malls/ entertainment centers. That could also be an issue to untangle.
Guess the 2026 will be my last year watching MLB.
Why?
Cancel the whole season. And more. Gotta be some kind of cap. I love baseball but could go a couple years without it.
Why does there need to be a cap? MLB revenue has not stopped growing.
There doesn’t need to be a cap. A cap is what simple minded folks want because they believe it will create balance.
What MLB needs to do is allow the Dodgers, Yankees, Mets and whoever else to spend all they want but increase the penalties as it relates to amateur talent while also implementing an international draft.
They also need to change the qualifying offer, remove the “I already got one” and entire season loophole.
IMO, if a team is a luxury tax paying team, they lose a draft pick if they sign a player over a certain AAV regardless. If a team is a revenue sharing team, they do not lose anything. Luxury tax paying teams get no compensation for losing a “QO” player, revenue sharing get compensation regardless if they trade for them mid-season.
To balance baseball, you have to balance talent, not payrolls.
Manfred can’t go soon enough. He’s been a cancer on the game.
A salary cap will do nothing to help competitive balance. It will favour the attractive markets even more than the current system. If a player has a choice to sign in LA or Milwaukee, Minnesota, Toronto for the same salary, I would bet they pick LA for the marketing, weather, lifestyle. I think as odd as it sounds, increasing the salary at which luxury tax gets applied while greatly increasing the amount paid in the upper tiers would be the best approach to combat LA and the Mets.
There should be a cap on owners profits. A certain percentage has to be put back into the team. Owners don’t look good when they are raking in billions but won’t profit share with the players, who are basically their partners in success.
The simp[e solution is that the players ask for a percentage of the gross. Everything after that are minor preferences.
1-Y’all worry too much about this. We haven’t missed a game in 30+ years.
2-Many seem too intent on taking sides. Both sides have every right to protect their interests and everyone in here would do the same.
3-Just imo, the players do a bad job in these things. They should think like owners, get a percentage of the gross, and grow the game. I know it is a different sport, but I look at what the NFL players got over the past two years, and it is staggering.
This is exactly what is stalling the long contracts for players.
Small teams could go into this with more of a stock option setup for players rather than large salary garuntee. This way they get out of it what they bring. And their shares come from what they bring to the bottom line directly. Like an esop. After 5 years of their retirement the payout starts and by that time the new players have been adding it works in perpetuity without backloading the bench with 40 year olds. If a controlled player takes off it’s his share value that accrues massive dollar value as the team shares grow and his part in it. The owner wins. The player wins. But only if they all perform well as a franchise.
Saying he anticipates a lockout is just a rally cry to unite and strike in 2 years. It’s just easier to blame the evil owners. You know the ones that have hundreds of employees to think about and nothing but risk to take. A strike is just like an extended vacation for the millionaires playing a child’s national pastime.
A lockout is owner-initiated, not labor-initiated. The owners (via Manfred) have said they have no qualms about gambling with their employees’ potential livelihoods.
When the labor doesn’t show up for work it is a strike. Clark will not negotiate so he’s ralling the troops in advance. Their livelihoods? How ever will the boycotters feed them and their families without the money they live paycheck to paycheck on. SMH
Clark has not mentioned a strike. The MLB commissioner suggested to reporters that a lockout is a positive thing this year in regards to the expiration of the current CBA; who here has evidence of posturing their side for a work stoppage?
It’s either a lockout or a strike. If the PA promised not to strike, then the owners could promise no lockout. But since that won’t happen, the owners have no choice but a lockout.
If it’s like last time, don’t expect the owners or Manfred to bargain in good faith.
I think they bargain in good faith, but neither side is ever going to put all their cards on the table. I wouldn’t either.
There will never be a floor or a cap. Ever. And baseball isn’t bleeding fans, the game is growing. Ticket sales are up, viewership is up, sponsorship is up, and overall revenue is up. The game may be unbalanced, but it’s certainly not unhealthy
Yes, and have a viewing subscription. So I guess I’m the culprit that’s increasing viewership, ticket sales and revenue.
I don’t know who the fans are, their ages, or if they attend or watch on a device. I only know that there’s more of them.
Or, just maybe, the reason for less fans is the 60% increase in ticket prices.
That could be the new age. Folks don’t go to the movie theaters any more, but they still like movies.
I’ve seen the owners do collusion, I’ve seen them strong arm the players. There are a certain subset of players/player agents that distort the market. Certainly Soto is not worth the many multiples of someone stuck in pre-arb, say, Gunnar Henderson. Yes, the players are greedy but the long line of billionaires pouncing on a team purchase when it comes up demonstrates its a lucrative enterprise for them. That, and them not opening their books.
Players overall need a higher share of the revenue, MLB lags other sports in both revenue shared with players and in payroll as total expense. That said, the opportunity to compete is also not distributed equally as it is with NFL or NHL, so a cap AND FLOOR is needed. Note: I said “opportunity to compete”, you will always have the Browns or Jets who will try but can’t get it right, though hope springs eternal every offseason. Owners oppose this, especially those who have the highest revenues.
True full share of revenues as others have mentioned, but the TV rights being individualized and a few owners who have that gravy train will block that.
The owners are positioned to wait it out and strong arm the players again. If the players don’t basically cave (again), the 2026 season will not be played. Fans will find something else to do and it will hurt the game. I am not the only one who never regained the interest level I had in the sport prior to 1994. The owners know that they might lose fans but the money will eventually recover one way or the other, that’s all they care about.
I think longevity of the sport’s relevance would be severely impacted by a one year stoppage. The average fan is almost 50, and the younger fans will easily turn to USFL or something like lacrosse or even track and field if they put it on.
Edit – 2027 season will not be played, not 2026.
The stoppage can happen on 12/1/2026.
No games missed in 30+ years. Don’t worry about it.
I’m not…I get to see maybe 5 Orioles games a year and just watch the youtube highlights of each game. When I lived in Maryland/southern PA I’d watch at least 100 a year even when they were losing over 60 of those lol
The best solution for baseball parity is a hard salary floor, a 30-way split of media revenue (really, it’s like a 2:1 ratio between the TV deal haves and have-nots, it feels realistic to me), a 50-50 total revenue split between players and owners, and a global draft without pools. TBH, I don’t see why a hard salary cap would be a sticking point with the leaguewide revenue split, but there should at least be some stronger mechanisms for the top of the CBT. I think there are other issues to address, like MiLB compensation, league minimum, and maybe amateur IFA.
“Yes, yes, the rich people are buying all of the food, but it’s OK, we’ll just give the poor more dirt and seeds, they’ll be fine.”
“Oh, and then when they grow their food, we can just buy it anyway once they need the money bad enough.”
Cool system.
Strange reply.
It’s like computer art from the 90’s.
You see it or you don’t.
You don’t.
Stranger, I’m not even sure we’re in disagreement about parity here.
There may not have been dynasties, but most WS winners have top 10 payrolls. Look at the stats, a lower payroll team makes the WS in maybe once every 5 years.
It’s literally billionaires arguing with millionaires still. You have two players making close to a billion dollars that takes up almost 1/3 of a payroll. Like younger talent is also pushing out the veteran players out of teams too. It’s easier to risk and pay less to a player with less than a year or 2 experience then spending $40 plus million on an aging vet who past his prime. Teams to stop giving 10 year deals to players on the wrong side of thirty. Like if a player is not performing or playing he should NOT get paid, so that money can reinvest into needs of a team.
Not handing out 10 year contracts seems like an easy pitfall for small market teams to avoid. Payroll is usually a poor investment for small market teams anyways, though it happens to be the most conspicuous for fans. Better to invest in drafting and development.
I love baseball fans pretending we don’t have decades of evidence of the effects of salary caps on sports leagues.
“But, but, Brady and the Chiefs….different WS winners, but, but…”
Any lack of parity in other sports you want to cherry pick to defend baseball’s broken system are the result of some teams drafting, developing, scouting, coaching, etc. better than other teams NOT FROM FINANCIAL ADVANTAGE.
I hate unions. They are worthless
Exactly.
Bring back child labor and the 7 day work week.
Mushroom managed boot lickers know where it’s at.
I love minions. Can’t understand them though.
Why don’t we as fans preemptively lock out the MLB?
Just don’t go to games. They’ll figure things out rather quickly.
Though I’m a former A’s fan, so I could care less what the MLB does at this point