Major League Baseball is proposing a salary cap for players, the first since 1994

The last time a salary cap was proposed, players carried out a 7 1/2 month strike.

FILE – Rob Manfred, commissioner of Major League Baseball answers questions during a news conference at the MLB winter meetings, Dec. 8, 2025, in Orlando, Fla. [Photo: John Raoux/AP Photo]

Major League Baseball owners made their long-expected salary cap proposal to the players’ association on Thursday, a system the union has vowed never to accept, setting the sides on course for a confrontation that threatens the 2027 season and perhaps beyond.Baseball owners hadn’t proposed a firm cap since 1994. Their effort prompted a 7 1/2-month strike that forced the cancellation of the World Series for the first time in 90 years.MLB’s proposal would cap spending in 2027 at $245.3 million, using figures for luxury tax payrolls that include $20.1 million for benefits and the pre-arbitration bonus pool. It also would establish a payroll floor of $171.2 million, forcing some teams to spend more. The Los Angeles Dodgers, baseball’s biggest spenders, had a $415.2 million payroll on opening day this year — around $170 million over the proposed cap.“The cap is pretty much a nonstarter,” Pittsburgh outfielder Bryan Reynolds said.Owners said they would discuss with the union both a phase-in schedule that would give teams like the Dodgers time to comply with the cap and an escrow system as part of a proposed seven-year deal. In an escrow system, a portion of a player’s salary is withheld to ensure the agreed-to-revenue split when final figures are accounted for.MLB maintained all current contracts would remain guaranteed and there would be no prohibition of guaranteed contracts under the cap system.MLB said it would centralize local media revenue from the 30 teams equally and give players a 50-50 split as part of a proposal that would eliminate the current revenue-sharing plan among the clubs.“Our salary cap and floor proposal levels the playing field while sharing baseball revenue with the players 50/50 as we grow the game........

© Fast Company