MLB Proposes $100 Million Minimum Payroll For Teams

Major League Baseball and the Player’s Association have some work to do. With the Collective Bargaining Agreement set to expire at the end of the season, MLB needs to come up with a new deal that both sides can agree on. 

So everything talked about from now until the end of the season is worth noting. If MLB has anything to say to the Player’s Association, it’s going to relate to the new CBA in some way. That’s what makes this report from The Athletic today so interesting.  

In a meeting this week in Denver, MLB reportedly presented a financial plan that included a change to taxes on team spending. That new plan would apparently require a league minimum payroll for teams, something that we have not seen before. 

That minimum would reportedly be $100 million in the new plan. Money collected from team payroll taxes would fund some of the lesser teams unable to meet the $100 million minimum. That could potentially create a more even playing field and close the gap between the small and big market teams. There is no word on when MLB would like for this to happen if it went through. 

MLB Related: Dodgers 2022 Spring Training Schedule

MLB’s plan would also adjust the current tax tiers for teams that exceed the payroll threshold. Currently, the first threshold to cross before incurring a penalty tax is $210 million, though that number fluctuates annually. Taxation under the new plan would begin at $180 million.

The CBA expires on December 1st, so MLB and the MLBPA still have plenty of work to do. But with the tense negotiations during the 2020 pandemic season, many believe it will end up being a fight. Here’s hoping that the tide has shifted. 

Dodgers: Matt Beaty Comes Through in a Big Spot Once Again