Assume it is February 2027. Spring training was supposed to begin three weeks ago. It has not. The lockout that began after the collective bargaining agreement expired on Dec. 1, 2026, remains in place, negotiations have stalled, and the first week of the regular season is now realistically at risk. Your ownership group has a broadcast agreement, debt covenants, institutional investors awaiting quarterly reporting and a roster of players whose service time, contract status and arbitration rights now exist in legal uncertainty.

What happens next is not simply a labor-relations question. It is also a legal one.

That is the scenario baseball’s front offices, ownership groups, and general counsel should be stress-testing now, two months before the CBA expires. A negotiated settlement remains entirely possible. But a prolonged work stoppage presents legal and contractual issues extending well beyond the bargaining table — and many require preparation long before any lockout is declared.

The broadcast contract problem few are discussing

Every MLB club operates within a network of local and national media rights agreements negotiated against assumptions of uninterrupted seasons and predictable game inventory. A prolonged work stoppage disrupts those assumptions immediately.

Force majeure provisions vary considerably, as do notice requirements, revenue-abatement provisions and termination rights. Certain contracts reduce rights fees proportionally to games lost. Others permit renegotiation or termination after specified interruption thresholds. Agreements renegotiated following the regional sports network disruption may contain language whose application to a prolonged league lockout has never been tested.

The Diamond Sports Group bankruptcy demonstrated how quickly disputes can emerge when the assumptions underlying media rights agreements begin to fail. A leaguewide work stoppage could create a different, but similarly........

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