Major League Baseballs officially has its opening proposal.
The MLB Players Association made its first formal offer to owners Wednesday as the sport begins working toward a new collective bargaining agreement, and the unions initial wishlist is exactly what fans might expect: higher salaries, more player protections and a new mechanism aimed at forcing lower-spending teams to put more money into the on-field product (cough, Pirates, cough).
Among the biggest pieces of the proposal is a massive increase to the league minimum salary. The MLBPA is seeking a $1.5 million minimum beginning in 2027, according to a proposal document posted by USA Todays Bob Nightengale. That would nearly double the current $780,000 minimum.
The union also proposed expanding the pre-arbitration bonus pool, broadening salary arbitration eligibility, increasing protections against service-time manipulation, eliminating the qualifying offer and removing penalties for clubs that sign free agents.
But the most interesting piece might be the proposed “Competitive Integrity Tax.”
According to the proposal, the tax would apply to clubs that fail to meet minimum payroll benchmarks, reportedly teams spending less than $150 million. In other words, the players are not just targeting the top-spending teams (cough, Dodgers, cough). Theyre also taking aim at franchises that collect league revenue while refusing to spend enough on major league talent.
That is where the next labor fight could get especially interesting.
MLB already has a competitive balance tax, more commonly known as the luxury tax, that punishes teams for spending above certain payroll thresholds. The MLBPAs proposal would increase the base luxury-tax threshold from $244 million to $300 million and remove nonmonetary penalties, such as draft-pick consequences, according to ESPN’s Jeff Passan.
So the unions message is clear: stop punishing aggressive spenders so harshly, and start putting pressure on teams that wont spend.
The proposal also includes changes to revenue sharing. Sports Business Journal reported that the MLBPAs plan would guarantee every small-market team at least $240 million in annual revenue, but with conditions requiring those funds to be used to improve on-field performance. The proposal would also create penalties for clubs that do not spend revenue-sharing payments on team payroll.
It’s a plan that fans of low-spending teams are likely to get behind (cough, Reds, cough).
Baseballs economic argument is usually framed around the Dodgers, Mets, Yankees and other big spenders. Owners who want a salary cap often point to competitive balance and the financial gap between major-market and smaller-market teams. But the players proposal smartly attacks the issue from the other direction.
Instead of capping what the richest teams can spend, the MLBPA wants to raise the floor for teams that spend very little.
The union also proposed allowing player
