White Sox Owner Mat Ishbia Endorses MLB Salary Cap—and Floor

Another MLB club owner is strongly on record in favor of a hard salary cap and floor, further showing the extent of management’s push to restructure the economics of baseball. 

White Sox minority owner Mat Ishbia told Front Office Sports he is firmly in favor of a hard cap in baseball—and he particularly lauded the virtues of a proposed salary floor along with it. 

Ishbia, also the majority owner of the NBA’s Suns and WNBA’s Mercury, owns about 40% of the White Sox along with his brother Justin, who is poised to take over club control from current chairman Jerry Reinsdorf in a multistage transition. He cautioned that as a minority owner, he won’t be making the calls on what happens with the labor dispute. 

“I do believe that it’s been proven that having a salary cap does make sense for the business,” Mat Ishbia told FOS’s Dan Roberts. “But, also what people don’t realize, people say, ‘Oh, that’s very owner-like to say.’ But the other part that’s not happening that’s very fan-like—and once again, I’m maybe speaking out of turn because I don’t have any say on this at all—is in the NBA, there’s also a minimum you have to pay. So in the NBA, even though the salary cap’s, whatever, $180 million. I can’t pay only $70 million to just sit there. I’ve actually got to pay 90-plus%, 95%. Therefore, it’s really a pro-player thing. So I think there’s probably a compromise.”

Ishbia’s comments echo those of other MLB club owners. Yankees managing general partner Hal Steinbrenner, who is on MLB’s labor policy committee, said Wednesday he supports management’s labor proposals, including the salary cap and floor, “in their entirety.” 

Brewers owner Mark Attanasio similarly told WFAN earlier this week, “I think you have to ask yourself, ‘What’s worked in other leagues? What’s the likelihood of [winning a championship]?’” 

Attanasio is scheduled to speak with the media again on Thursday in advance of his Brewers playing in the World Series starting Friday against the Rays. 

Labor Dynamics 

The salary cap and floor are key parts of MLB’s proposals in ongoing labor negotiations with the MLB Players Association. Owners have also put forward bids for significant restrictions on free agency, a retooled draft, and a 154-game regular season. 

Players vehemently oppose much of this, particularly the salary cap, as they view such measures as drags on overall compensation. 

“For generations, our members have fought against cap systems because they harm players at all levels, erode or eliminate contractual guarantees, pit player against player, lead to more work stoppages, not less, and get worse for players over time,” MLBPA interim executive director Bruce Meyer said earlier this year. “Caps don’t lower ticket prices for fans, eliminate tanking, or ensure teams are run with equal competence. They suffocate competition by offering owners an all-purpose excuse for inaction and mediocrity.”

Ishbia’s comments give a further spotlight to the proposed salary floor, which has been a somewhat overlooked part of the public discussion around the ongoing labor negotiations.

Scrutiny has been high on top-spending teams such as the Dodgers, Mets, and Yankees, and the owners’ intended salary cap of $245.3 million would require payroll cuts by those and several other teams. A sought-after salary floor of $171.2 million, meanwhile, is above the current payrolls of 12 clubs, including the Brewers and Rays now competing in the World Series.

“My take is there’s got to be some structure so that all the teams can compete, and there’s got to be some type of formality there,” Ishbia said. 

With players and owners still deeply divided, management is expected to impose a lockout once the current collective bargaining agreement expires in December.