Major League Baseball has amended its salary cap and floor proposal to the MLB Players Association. Now that the 2026 season is complete and baseball is into its offseason, MLB has proposed delaying the start of the salary cap and floor to the 2028 season. The rest of their proposals would begin with the 2027 season but the teams would have a full season to make adjustments to prepare themselves for the coming changes.
The owners further proposed increasing the cap to $258.2 million from the original
$245.3 million and the floor to $180.2 million from $171.2 million. The new numbers reflect a 50-50 split of the projected revenue for the 2028 season.
A change to the retirement proposal
The offer also includes $282 million in luxury tax revenue to be given to players in cash payments instead of being placed into retirement benefits. In the present system, when a team pays luxury tax, half of the money goes into player benefits and the other half to the teams. For the 2027 season, the league is offering to pay the retirement portion directly to the players. According to league estimates, $285,000 would go to each player who received a full year of service time, $213,400 to a player with three-quarters of a year of service, $142,300 to a player with a half year of service, and $71,100 to any player with a quarter year of service.
Teams outside the guidelines
Per the MLB numbers, 12 teams would have to raise payroll to meet the minimum proposed floor while eight teams would have to decrease their payroll to meet the cap. Those numbers are based on current payrolls and would change based on what teams spend in 2027.
Players response
The MLB Players Association predictably responded negatively to the new offer.
“MLB owners continue to propose blowing up the current system and replacing it with one designed to line their pockets and increase their franchise values.” The statement continued, “a massive reduction in player compensation, elimination of fundamental player rights, plus a gutting of domestic and international amateur entry systems.” A statement virtually identical to the previous proposal from the owners.
Sweetening the pot?
This appears to be an attempt by the league to sweeten the deal for the players but doesn’t seem to have the desired effect. The baseline for the union is their unwillingness to accept a salary cap and floor as the start of negotiations.
The current contract expires and 11:59 pm eastern time on Dec. 1. The owners have made it clear they intend to lock the players out if no deal is reached by that time.
