MLB proposes delaying salary cap until 2028 amid start of free agency, labor uncertainty — SkimNews
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- MLB proposed moving salary-cap implementation to 2028 to give teams a full offseason to prepare while keeping the rest of its labor offer for 2027 ahead of the CBA’s Dec. 1 expiration.
- MLBPA has consistently opposed any salary cap and said players would lose more than $1 billion over the proposal’s life, amid a significant likelihood of a league lockout.
- MLB projected a 2028 cap of $258.2 million and floor of $180.2 million, above its original 2027 figures of $245.3 million and $171.2 million, using a 50-50 split of projected revenue that includes amateur bonuses and team deductions.
- MLB proposed giving players $282 million in competitive-balance-tax proceeds as cash, but IRS limits restrict present-day distributions to about $72 million, with hundreds of millions held in reserve.
- MLBPA countered with a $300 million base competitive-balance-tax threshold, a $1.5 million minimum salary, a $180 million pre-arbitration pool and free agency for players 30 and older after five years rather than six.
- MLB made earlier free agency, a $900,000 minimum salary—with $1 million for some players—and a $65 million pre-arbitration pool contingent on accepting the cap-and-floor system; it also proposed an international draft and domestic-draft changes the union opposes.
- MLB projected that 12 teams, including the Milwaukee Brewers, would need to increase payroll to reach the 2028 floor, while eight carried payrolls above the ceiling; teams could spend as little as 90% of the floor if they met the minimum over multiple years.
Why it matters: The delay gives MLB teams the full 2027 offseason to adjust, but the economics remain contested: 12 clubs would need to raise payroll toward the projected 2028 floor, eight would exceed the ceiling, and the MLBPA says accepting a cap would cost players more than $1 billion.
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