Hall of Famer Mariano Rivera has officially broken away from the MLB Players Association, throwing his full support behind a salary cap to make baseball “fair.”
The Major League Baseball Players Association and team owners are at a stalemate about introducing a salary cap in the MLB. The MLBPA is actively opposing a salary cap. With the current collective bargaining agreement nearing its expiration, a lockout in 2027 looks inevitable. However, Rivera’s stance as a Yankees legend adds massive weight to the other side of the argument.
“Yes, there should be one, because it has to be fair to everybody,” Rivera said, according to CNBC Sport. “It makes the competition better.”
Rivera racked up an MLB-record 652 saves and secured a unanimous Hall of Fame induction without ever playing under a salary cap. He earned roughly $170 million over his 19-year career in New York.
However, with expanding payrolls, $170 million does not appear much. Especially when compared to contracts like those of Shohei Ohtani ($700 million) or Kyle Tucker ($240 million).
The concept of a salary cap stems from the idea of bringing competitive fairness among big-league teams. In recent years, the gap between the highest and lowest-spending teams has grown significantly. This season, the Los Angeles Dodgers have a $416 million payroll, including luxury tax, while the Miami Marlins have the lowest payroll of $80 million. It makes for an astounding gap of $336 million.
USA Today notes that as many as 11 teams have opened the season with a payroll of at least $200 million.
Many believe that this payroll disparity is directly reflected in the case of winning championships. For instance, the Dodgers are back-to-back World Series champions, and the Marlins haven’t won any since 2003. On the contrary, despite spending more than $300 million in the last two seasons, the Yankees have yet to end their World Series drought. They haven’t won one since 2009.
According to CNBC, Rivera also believes that the MLB should introduce mandatory provisions so that low-market franchises invest in team development.
“If I’m giving you money — from my pocket to you — to make the team better, I believe you should do that and not pocket it,” remarked Rivera.
Currently, the only revenue-sharing system that MLB has is to distribute local media money among all 30 teams. However, it is not enough to bridge the existing payroll gap.
Moreover, recent studies show that the ten lowest-spending teams in MLB have increased their payrolls by just 1.7% annually on average since 2019. Such studies show that a salary cap alone cannot fix the problem, leading experts to propose a salary floor as well. A salary floor would push the low-spending teams to increase their payrolls to balance.
In the US sports spectrum of the NBA, NFL, and the NHL, the MLB is the only league without a salary cap. However, the demand for having one has increased significantly in the last few years.
“We have a significant segment of our fans that have been vocal about the issue of competitive balance. And in general, we try to pay attention to our fans,” noted Commissioner Rob Manfred, per CNBC.
With the collective bargaining negotiations scheduled to start in a few weeks, fans are fearing a lockout. The lockout of 1994-1995 had high consequences. Started on August 12, 1994, the strike cost that year’s World Series and almost the full 1995 season. The MLB lost a total of 938 games during those 232 days.
To avoid such consequences, the owners and the players’ association will reportedly begin negotiations soon.
The MLB and the Players Association will start negotiations soon
The San Francisco Giants chairman, Greg Johnson, has long said, “Whatever form this collective bargaining takes, my encouragement to all sides is to start talking earlier.”
According to Evan Drellich of The Athletic, that time will come in the upcoming weeks. The current CBA ends on December 1, and team owners and the MLBPA need to agree on a new deal by that date to ensure the 2027 season starts on time. However, it is highly unlikely, as the owners are pushing for a salary cap while the association is opposing it.
The first step of proposal exchanges must happen from both sides to jumpstart the process. But The Athletic predicts that a deal between the two parties won’t be reached before the spring of 2027. As the chances of a lockout loom, much to the disappointment of the fans, they don’t have much to do, except watch how their favorite pastime overcomes the stalemate.
Daniel Kelly of the Tisch Institute for Global Sport, part of New York University, reportedly observed, “Until we get to that red line where we’re seeing, ‘OK, we could potentially be impacting next season’ — that’s when you’re going to start to see the ire of the fans.”
In 2021, the lockout lasted until March, only barely saving the season. Now, fans are nervous as the deadline returns. If both sides don’t learn from the past, a 2027 lockout could wipe out the entire year, just like the 1994 strike.
