NEW YORK (AP) — Major League Baseball proposed delaying the start of a salary cap until 2028, saying teams have too many commitments for next season that wouldn't allow them to reduce spending quickly enough.
A day after the start of free agent negotiations for the 2026-27 offseason, owners on Tuesday proposed to players that the sport adopt a hard cap of $258.2 million for 2028 and a mandatory floor of $180.2 million, using luxury tax payrolls with
average annual values.
“We recognize that clubs will need a full offseason to prepare to operate within the cap and floor system," MLB spokesman Glen Caplin said in a statement. “This proposal would allow a smoother transition into the cap and floor system without delaying key player benefits, including earlier free agency, a $1 million minimum salary, a 30% increase to the pre-arbitration bonus pool and transactional reform that will reduce roster churn.”
Baseball's five-year labor contract expires Dec. 1 and management is expected to lock out the union. MLB hasn't proposed a salary cap since the negotiations that led to a strike in 1994, and the players’ association has said it never will accept a cap.
MLB proposed a one-time bonus payment to players as part of the plan, using money from luxury tax proceeds that the current labor agreement earmarks for players' 401(k) accounts. The bonus would be based on 2026 service time, with those in the majors for at least 172 of the 187-day regular season getting $285,000. The bonus would be $213,400 for three-quarters of a year, $142,300 for half and $71,100 for a quarter.
Management said eight teams would have to reduce current payroll by a combined $528 million to get under the 2028 cap: Boston, the Chicago Cubs, the Los Angeles Dodgers, New York Mets and Yankees, Philadelphia, San Diego and Toronto.
Twelve teams would have to increase spending by $636 million to reach the floor: the Athletics, the Chicago White Sox, Cincinnati, Cleveland, Colorado, Miami, World Series champion Milwaukee, Minnesota, Pittsburgh, St. Louis, AL champion Tampa Bay and Washington.
MLB said it was willing to discuss phase-in timelines and procedures. It would keep the current luxury tax system and revenue-sharing plan for 2027 with the same thresholds and tax rates as in 2026, then centralize MLB media revenue for 2028.
Owners said they would accept the union's proposal to reduce service time for free-agent eligibility from six seasons of service to five for players at least 30 years old but would give a player's team the right to make a qualifying offer as under the current free-agent rules. If a player rejects the qualifying offer, he would be eligible for salary arbitration.
MLB would accept the union's proposal to eliminate qualifying offers for other free agents.
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