MLB proposes 2028 salary cap start as players’ union maintains opposition
The league projects a US$258.2 million cap and US$180.2 million payroll floor, with final figures dependent on 2027 revenue.
Major League Baseball proposed on November 3 that its planned salary cap and payroll floor take effect in 2028, but the Major League Baseball Players Association maintained its opposition to a cap. The league said clubs need more preparation time because free-agent negotiations have already begun.
MLB put the projected ceiling at US$258.2 million and the minimum payroll at US$180.2 million. The final amounts would depend on revenue from the 2027 season.
League spokesperson Glen Caplin said allowing clubs an entire offseason to adjust would ease the transition without postponing proposed player benefits. Those include earlier eligibility for free agency, a minimum salary of US$1 million, a pre-arbitration bonus pool increase of 30 percent and transaction changes intended to limit roster turnover.
The union argued that owners’ proposals would reduce player compensation and benefit franchise owners. It also raised concerns about eliminating guaranteed contracts and said the league had rejected players’ proposals concerning minimum pay and revenue sharing. Union officials told ESPN’s Jeff Passan that accepting a cap would cost players more than US$1 billion over the proposal’s duration.
The MLBPA said players remained willing to negotiate a new collective bargaining agreement. The existing agreement expires on Dec. 1 at 11:59 p.m. ET. MLB’s previous lockout ran for 99 days, beginning in December 2021 and ending in March 2022.
