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Report: MLB Owners Propose a $245 Million Salary Cap
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Major League Baseball owners proposed a hard salary cap to players as part of the next CBA on Thursday, their first firm cap proposal since 1994.
Under the proposal, presented in a meeting with union officials, each team would need to maintain a payroll of at least $171.2 million without exceeding $245.3 million starting in 2027. That includes player benefits just as it does under the current CBT system.
Going by the 2026 payroll list at Spotrac, the teams currently spending more than $245 million are the Mets, Dodgers, Yankees, Blue Jays, Phillies, and Braves. Houston would just sneak in at $240 million.
Currently coming in below the proposed salary floor is 50% of the league, starting with the Orioles at $167 million and ending with the Marlins at $78 million. The other clubs that would be in non-compliance are the Mariners, Royals, Reds, Brewers, Rockies, Twins, Pirates (shocker), Rays, Cardinals, A’s, Nationals, White Sox, and Guardians.
Everybody’s got their opinion on the salary cap. Spending a lot of money doesn’t always amount to success. See, for instance, the Mutts as a big-spending failure and the Guardians as a low-spending success. But parity is nice in theory, it’s a matter of how we get there in practice. Raise your hand if you think the Dodgers should be allowed to throw a million bazillion dollars at every big free agent who hits the market (and defer some of that money at the same time).
The current collective bargaining agreement expires on December 1st. No deal by that point and it’s Lockout City USA.
Kevin has been writing about Philadelphia sports since 2009. He spent seven years in the CBS 3 sports department and started with the Union during the team's 2010 inaugural season. He went to the academic powerhouses of Boyertown High School and West Virginia University. email - k.kinkead@sportradar.com