MLB and Union Disagree on Salary Cap as Cable Networks Crumble

Tension between management and labor is inherent in baseball. Most teams’ finances are not public, and M.L.B. is the only one of the major North American men’s professional sports leagues without a hard salary cap. In the N.F.L. and the N.B.A., revenue is split between team owners and players at a fixed rate.

And although there are concerns in the sport about the crumbling regional sports networks model, which provides substantial cash to teams, M.L.B. is a lucrative business. During the 2022 World Series, Manfred said M.L.B.’s gross revenues in the 2022 season were going to be “just shy” of $11 billion — the amount reached in 2019, the last full season before the pandemic.

During the collective bargaining agreement talks before last season, players conceded on some matters to get more money for their younger counterparts and to raise the thresholds for the so-called luxury tax, in which teams that go over certain amounts are penalized.

As a result, teams have spent $4.2 billion this winter in free-agent deals and contract extensions, according to Spotrac. Chief among them: big-market teams such as the Yankees ($574 million), the Mets ($498 million) and the Padres ($838 million).

“It begs the question as to why they made that decision and why others aren’t,” Clark said of the Padres compared with other small-market teams. “It’s very clear, from the public comments that the owner of San Diego made, that they want to compete, they’re able to compete, are excited about the team that they built there in San Diego. It should be celebrated, not questioned.”

Article source: https://www.nytimes.com/2023/02/26/sports/baseball/mlb-salary-cap.html